


He loves me, He loves me not

by dancinluv



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-31 15:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3983020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinluv/pseuds/dancinluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie's rediscovers what it's like to fall in love all over again</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My first Crush

She slides her feet across the cherry wood floor sluggishly approaching her sisters bedroom. Abbie lightly knocks on her sister bedroom door hoping her sister can provide answers Abbie's mind cannot. She cannot trust the feelings that lies hidden inside her gut. No one would know Abbie better than herself and her sister. Abbie hears a faint voice on the other side.

"Yeah?"

'Jenny you awake?' her voice was raspy from sleep. It was only ten minutes prior she had awakened in her own bed. In her tired groggy state, she'd stared at the ceiling fan for five minutes before she forced her body out of bed.

"I am now. What's up?" Abbie could tell she woke her sister by how barely audible Jenny 's voice sounded.

"Can I come in? I need to talk"  she bites her lower lip, nervous about what she needs to bring to her sisters attention.

"Yeah sure"

Abbie enters Jenny's room and sits down at the edge of her bed. Jenny rubs the sleep out from her eyes with her fingers and pushes herself to sit up in an indian style seated position. She could see the troubled facial expression Abbie held. Jenny leans her body forward to rest her hand on Abbie's forearm.

"What's going on?" Jenny softly asked with concern.

Abbie shakes her head in silence and closes her eyes for a brief moment collecting her thoughts trying to find the best way to vocalize her next words.

"I've been thinking about Crane, a lot more than usual. I think...I think I am starting to have feelings for him" she opens her eyes to see Jenny's reaction, waiting for her to make some joke or tease her about the confession she just made.

Jenny just stares at Abbie, her expression unreadable. She slowly slides her hand off of Abbie's forearm placing it inside her lap.

"Hate to say this Abbie but, I'm not surprised" and she really wasn't. Ever since two months ago, Jenny has witnessed Abbie constantly by Crane's side and Crane by hers. One not letting the other one out of their site unless it was on days Jenny and Abbie were spending sisterly time together. Whether it be having lunch, shopping at the mall, watching a movie, etc. Jenny would catch Abbie texting Crane when Jenny would excuse herself to go use the rest room or to make a quick call. There was a day when Jenny was filling up the gas tank to her truck, she had looked up to see Abbie smiling and laughing, texting away on her phone standing outside while waiting for Jenny to finish servicing her truck. At the time, Jenny didn't think anything of the mystery man that was making her sister giggle like a schoolgirl. Jenny had wanted to ask Abbie who the mystery person was she had been texting but knew Abbie well enough to deprive her of an answer.

Jenny figured or hoped at some point Crane and Abbie's bonding time would lead to more than just a friendship but that was her own corrupted mind playing matchmaker. After everything they have both been through she felt they really did need each other.

"You're not surprised" it was more of a comment than a question. Abbie raises her brows in perplexity.

"No, not really. You guys have been spending a lot of time together. It's only natural to have some type of emotional attachment when you've been around someone for so long and have grown close to."

Abbie lets out a hard sigh.

"I don't want these feelings Jenny. The last thing I need right now is to start having feelings for someone who is emotionally unavailable.  Plus, I don't think I'm his type. Not that it matters. Anyways, how do I stop this from happening?" her tone was serious but her eyes looked to Jenny's with worry.

Jenny gives her an un sure look "How do you stop what from happening?"

"My feelings? How Jenny?"

Jenny laughs. "Abs, you can't just shut your feelings off like a faucet. It doesn't work that way. I know how you have to keep yourself guarded, at all times. I also know that it takes a lot for you to be able to trust and open yourself up to someone. Crane happened to be that person.  I get it Abs, you're scared. Scared of allowing someone in your heart again. You don't want to lose Crane. I understand why. You've lost too many people that you've cared for or gotten close to but you haven't lost me. That's why you have to trust the advice I'm about to give you. Let go for once, if you're feeling emotions for Crane that makes you feel good inside your heart then let it happen. Crane is a great guy Abbie. You are all he has. He, I can tell, has grown close to you too. He needs you."

"Not just me, he needs all of us." she voices softly.

"Yes but right now you are the closest person he has in his life... and he cares so much for you Abbie. He has shown that .. and you and I both don't need me to explain how." Jenny shoots her sister a look that said 'you know what I'm talking about'.

Abbie frowned, thinking back at the day he chose to sacrifice his wife's life to save hers.

"You're right. Still, I can't afford an emotional dilemma to interfere with our mission Jenny. Our bond as witnesses is too valuable to destroy. Crane and I have come too far to throw all of that away and allows ourselves to be vulnerable against what ever big bad demonic thing we come across, which I'm sure we will at some point. What I need to do is to stay focus and shut -'

Jenny cuts in before she could finish "-shut down your emotions? No Abbie. Burying your feelings is not a good idea. It won't help you, it'll only make things worse. What you need to do is to find out where Crane's head is at. You might be surprised."

Abbie looks at her sister is if she is crazy "what do you mean by that?"

"I 've seen how Crane looks at you. I am very observant." Jenny smiled teasingly at her sister.

"and how does he look at me?"

"Like you pulled the best damn magic trick even Houdini couldn't do. Trust me. I think he has the hots for you as well."

"Ohhh, I don't want to think about all of this." Abbie whined. "I really don't need this emotional bull crap in my life right now. I don't want this and didn't ask for it.  Crane is the last person I'd expect to have feelings for, truly. He's so, so, ..."

"different?"

"Yes!" Abbie slaps her hand down on the bed in agreement. 

"Difference is not a bad thing. Come on, you gotta admit Abs. He ain't bad looking."

"Yeah he's okay." she shrugs in a cool manner, not thinking much of his looks when in reality she finds him extremely handsome but Abbie had too much pride to admit that to her sister.

Jenny gives her sister a sly look. "Hey, I have an idea."

Abbie knew whenever Jenny would say "hey I have an idea" she knew it meant trouble.

"uh oh, what's your idea?" she looks at Jenny skeptically.

" _Well,_ -" she started out speaking timidly "-I was thinking, you me Frank and Crane could,,,, all go,,,, camping and,,,,maybe you and Crane could,,,,, share a tent?" she finished saying with a hopeful smile plastered on her face.

Abbie shakes her head quickly, disagreeing with Jenny's idea "no, uh uh, nope. Not going to happen."

"Aww why not?" Jenny whined.

"For one I hate the woods. I hate bugs, especially mosquitos. Last time I went camping I ended up being the main course for a shit load of mosquitos,, and who knows what else is lurking out in the woods, watching us, waiting to attack us in our sleep."

"That's why you have Crane by your side to protect you."

"and no, I'm not going to bunk with chatty Kathy. The man never shuts up Jenny. He questions everything. You know how I like to wrap my hair at night. I can picture it now, once he sees me wearing a doo rag, he'll question what the significance of wearing one is, the origin of it's name and so on and so on. I don't wanna deal with that headache."

"All I'm hearing is a lot of shit talk from you Abbie. I think the real reason why you don't want to stay in the same tent with him is because you might enjoy his company, too much." Jenny teases.

"Not even Jenny." she waves her hand dismissively.  

Jenny shakes her head and unfolds her legs to slide them off the bed. "I say we do a camping trip, this weekend. It'll only be for two solid days." Abbie just shoots her a 'I don't think so' look.

Abbie continues to shake her head no. "Being one with nature is not my style."

"But you do yoga. Isn't that being one with your inner being? Nature can have the same effect."

"Except their are mosquitos, snakes, spiders, maybe even bats and other creepy crawlies that like to hide out in the woods. I'm not about to get my ass bit up. You frank and Crane have fun, count me out."

Jenny walks around to where Abbie is sitting so she can look her straight in the eyes. "What can I do or say that will convince you to go?"

"Nothing" she responded flatly.

"Alright. I'm not going to twist your arm." she shrugs her shoulders as if Abbie's decision is no big thing. She had another trick up her sleeve that would get Abbie to change her mind.

They both turn their attention to the light buzzing noise coming from the living room. Abbie recognized that sound as well as Jenny. Abbie instantly jumps up from the bed and runs down the short hallway with Jenny right behind her. Jenny pushes Abbie out of the way to beat her to her own cell phone, already assuming who the person is that would be contacting Abbie this early in the morning. On their race down the hall, Abbie grabs Jenny 's arm and pulls her back. The action caused Jenny to stumble backwards over her own feet. Abbie was in the lead again, almost about to make it to her phone when Jenny pulls the back of her shirt causing Abbie to jerk backwards and fall to the ground on her ass. Abbie grabs her ankle, causing Jenny to fall forward. She climbs over top of JennyJenny's back and was about to make it past her when Jenny latches on to her ankle. The two sisters continue tackling each other. The phone stops ringing, both stop and look up at the couch where the previous buzzing sound came from. Four seconds go by when the phone starts vibrating again. They just stare at each other as if one could read the others mind. Abbie attempts to stand up when Jenny pushes Abbie's leg causing her to fall on her side. Jenny quickly pushes herself up and bends over the couch to grab the phone. A huge smile spreads across Jenny's face when she sees whose name appears on the screen. As fast as she could, Abbie stands on her feet to grab the cell phone out of Jenny's grasp. She swings her arm around Jenny's from behind trying to grab the phone from Jenny's hand. Jenny raises her arm up high in the air knowing good and well Abbie isn't tall enough to be able to reach her phone. Abbie jumps up in place trying to take her phone. Jenny tauntingly smiles at her sister. Abbie stopped after her fourth try. She huffs frustratingly and takes a step back folding her arms across her chest, looking annoyed at her sister.

"May I have my phone please"

"Nope. Not until you agree to go camping."

Abbie rolls her eyes "I'm not playing."

"Neither am I."

"I'm being serious, give me the phone" she demanded

"I'm being serious too. Will you go camping this weekend?" Jenny asked with raised brows.

"No."

Jenny lowers her arm "Then I guess I'll have to take this call and tell Crane a dirty little secret he would find interesting about you."

"What dirty little secret?" Abbie asked and looked at her suspiciously.

"How you have fantasized about role playing with man in uniform, in bed."

"Your bluffing."

"Am I?"

Abbie reaches for her phone again thinking Jenny was unguarded. Jenny swings her arm behind her out of Abbie's reach. "Al right enough fun and games. I'd like to have my phone back please, now." She holds out her hand.

The phone stops vibrating.  Jenny brings the phone up to her face to see who the second call was from.

"Wow, you received two missed calls from Crane. How much you wanna bet he calls again."

Right on cue the phone rings again.

Jenny looks at the phone smiling arrogantly. "Am I good or what."

"Jenny, give me my phone. It might be an emergency."

Jenny takes the call.

"Hey sexy!"

Abbie's mouth dropped open in shock.

She whispers to Jenny "Jenny! what are you doing?"

"How are you doing this morning you fine sexy thing."

Abbie slaps her forehead, shaking it out of embarrassment. She couldn't believe her sister would be so forward as to talk to Crane in that manner. She could just imagine Crane's reaction on the other end, confused and flabbergasted.

She whispers again to her sister "Jenny, give me the damn phone!"

Jenny just turns around, ignoring Abbie and giggling.

"You need to talk to my sister? Yes, she's right here. I'll put her on the phone, hotness." she turns back around and hands the phone to Abbie.

Abbie snatches the phone out of Jenny's hand.

"Crane I am so sorry, please excuse my sisters misbehavior. She was only- oh- Frank, hey, sorry I thought you were _Crane_ " she emphasizes the name while giving Jenny the most evil look.

"Hey Abbie, your sister was laying it on me pretty thick this morning. She giving you a hard time again?" he chuckles.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"oh, I had a hunch. Sorry to bother you this early in the morning Abbie but I was wondering if you could give me the number to your dentist. I cracked a tooth while eating some stale candy I had left over from Christmas."

Abbie laughs "Sure Frank, I'll text  you the number."

"Thanks Abbie."

She ends her call with Frank and gave Jenny a dirty look.

"You're evil"

Jenny covers her mouth laughing. "Wow Abs, you really do have it bad for Crane. Reason why you should do the camping thing this weekend." she was hinting.

Abbie knew Jenny was right. She did have it bad for Crane and hated herself for it. Mad for allowing herself to grow an emotional attachment to a man who she is close to but yet so distant thinking she could never open up about her true feelings to him.

"I don't know."

"Come on, please. Just for two days." Jenny begged.

Abbie thought hard about it for a second. She really didn't like the outdoors. The idea of being in the woods at night scared her a little. It wouldn't be a relaxing getaway for her as much as she'd like it to be knowing a demon or the horse man could pop out at anytime. She'd have to be on guard at all times through out the night. There would be no fun in that but on the other hand, it would give her a chance to feel Crane out and see if he too feels the same way. Her phone vibrates in her hand, she lifts the phone in eye view, butterflies start fluttering around in her stomach when she sees whose calling. She doesn't answer the call. Instead she allows it to go to voicemail. Jenny looks at the phone then back at her.

"Who was it?"

"Crane."

"Why didn't you answer it?"

"Good question. I have no idea. This is all too crazy for me." Abbie didn't like the effect Crane was beginning to have on her. Never before has she felt butterflies in her stomach, nervous to take a call. It was like experiencing her first high school crush all over again.

"I think within that short period of time when I had opened up to you about my feelings for Crane, things have gotten worse, like, I can't even think of him as just a friend anymore. I feel like I just boarded an emotional rollercoaster."

"Abbie, that's not a bad thing."

"Yes it is Jenny!' she snapped. "He is my partner! I don't want to think of him as my lover or potential lover. Crane has never shown any sign to reciprocate what I'm feeling ,,,, and I doubt he ever will. I'm probably not even close to being his type." she stops talking to pinch the bridge of her nose while squeezing her eyes closed. "You see it's shit like this I shouldn't be caring about." she opens her eyes. "I don't want to care about what Crane's type is or, or even care at all if he feels the same way or not. It shouldn't matter!"

"How do you even know what his type is? You don't.. and it does matter,,," she retorted  ",,,,you can't just deny what you feel for the man."

"I'm not denying it Jenny but I also don't want to encourage it. I'm not going on this camping trip. Discussion closed." Abbie storms past her sister to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Anger brewed inside Abbie for a good while before she started to calm down. Being angry at Jenny wouldn't be fair, she knew Jenny was only trying to help. More than anything she remained angry at herself to allow someone into her heart she vowed to never let happen again.

She was leaning against her door, her back pressed against the hard wood, looking up at the painting of the beach above her bed. Another buzzing noise came from the phone. It was a text from Crane. She didn't bother to look at it.

Jenny was in the living room sitting on the couch staring into space thinking about the argument she had with her sister. She felt bad for Abbie. Love was not an easy subject for Abbie to discuss when it came to men. She could tell by the expression on Abbie's face how much it pained her to reminded of what it's like to have strong emotional feelings for someone she cares deeply for. Jenny decided, If Abbie wasn't going to find out how Crane feels about her then she would take initiative to do it herself.

The creaking sound of a door opening drew Jenny out of her thoughts. Jenny looks behind to see Abbie walking slowly to where she is sitting. She walks around the corner of the couch and plops down next to her sister, sliding one foot underneath her knee with her arms resting in her lap.

"Hey." was all Abbie could say for the moment.

"You okay?"

"No," she said sighing ",,but shit happens, right" she looks remorsefully at Jenny.

"Yes, it does."

"Jenny, I'm sorry for getting upset with you. I just, I don't know how to deal with these type of feelings when I didn't ask for them in the first place."

Jenny decided to not give her sister advice this time and just be a listening ear assuming that 's all Abbie needs right now. She scoots closer to Abbie and puts her arm around her shoulder pulling Abbie close to her. Abbie rests her head on Jenny's inside shoulder. Jenny rests her head on top of Abbie's.

"I received a text from him but I have no idea what the message says. I didn't want to read it"

Jenny jerks her head back looking her sister curiously. "How come?"

All Abbie could do was chuckle finding the whole thing silly. "I have no idea." she laughs again.

"You mind if I read it?"

"Be my guest." Abbie hands Jenny her phone.

Jenny opens the text Crane had wrote to Abbie.

It read...

 **Crane** : _Good Morning Miss Mills. I tried phoning you through your cellular device but was not able to reach you. Are you awake?_

"What did he say?" Abbie asked softly.

"Not much really. All he put was how he had called you and couldn't get through and asked if you were awake."

"let me see." Jenny hands Abbie the phone. Abbie sits up and takes a look at the text for herself. She texts him back.

 **Abbie** : _yeah Crane, I'm awake. Sorry I missed your call. What's up?_

Jenny watches as Abbie texts him. They both wait for his reply. It took him five minutes til he responded back.

 **Crane** : _I am in the Archives researching a particular demon called the "Brocknod".  Most interesting creature._

Abbie: _Why are you at the archives doing research on this demon? Bored?_

 **Crane** : _Delighted you asked and no, I did not come here out of boredom. This particular demon preys upon virgins and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, I would prefer to explain the rest in person._

Jenny saw a concerned expression appear on Abbie's face. "What's wrong?"

"Not sure, Crane was informing me about a demon, I think might be on the loose. He said he'd tell me more in person."

Abbie texts him back.

 **Abbie** : _On my way_

The butterflies in her stomach were still floating around but not as bad once she found out there was a demon on the loose but knowing she would see him in person was making her nervous for the first time. Jenny could see Abbie's hand shaking a little. She takes the phone out of her hand and places it on the couch beside her.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Abbie shoots Jenny a fake grin and gets up from the couch.

Jenny knew her sister too well to know when she was lying.

"Want me to go with?"

"Yeah, might as well." Abbie said it in a way it didn't matter but in reality she was happy to have her sister accompany her. Suddenly the idea of being alone in the same room with Crane left her feeling uncomfortable. 


	2. The damsel in distress

Crane is deeply engrossed in a page inside Thomas Jefferson's journal he confiscated during his last encounter with Jefferson's hologram inside the 'Fenestela' before they had destroyed the vault . A small frustrated huff came from Crane,  reading a log that gave little detail on the Brocknod. Abbie and Jenny are rummaging through old newspaper articles dating back to the 1700's on any disappearances dealing with young girls. Abbie skimmed through ten articles, all had useless information. Jenny is sitting on a step stool reading an article about a girl's body, well what was left of it, that was found in the woods with claw marks as large as a bears. 

Abbie purposely took a seat as far away from Crane, doing her best to avoid looking at him. She sat in a chair by the double doors that was far enough from Crane's table. He still had yet to tell them the details about his reasons for mentioning the demon and sending them on a search that will help him acquire more information on the demons targets. He assured the two he'd explain his reasons for asking them to assist him with his research after he'd finished reading about what little information he found on the demon.

Abbie picked up a book sitting on the floor beside the legs of her chair. She blew the dust off of the cover before opening it. The book was of no importance to her, she didn't even care to read the title of the novel, it was just something to help keep her distracted from looking over at Crane. After a minute of browsing through a long boring chapter about anatomy and human origins, her eyes finally wandered in Crane's direction.

He looked no different than how he looked any other day. His hair untied, his coat was draped over his chair, he had on his usual attire, the loose fitting blue shirt, the brown cloth pants, his tall black calf boots. Nothing different at all. The only thing different was Abbie. She no longer thought of him as the talkative, smart ass, witty, know it all, eidetic, knowledgeable man. No, she now viewed him as a handsome, rugged, strong and yet sensitive person. He looked so dreamy in her eyes. The more she gawked at him the more his handsome features were standing out. All she could do was let her mind drift and fantasize about his long muscular lean arms encircling her tiny body, holding her close to his. Abbie gives her head one quick shake to snap out of the visual she was having of Crane before her imagination went down in the gutter.

Crane closes the journal and looks at Abbie. She quickly looks away back at the chapter she was pretending to read. Nerves got the best of her when her hands start shaking while holding onto the book. Crane stands up from his chair and makes his way over to where Abbie is sitting.

Abbie failed to hear Crane's footsteps approaching. He stops and stands behind her chair with his hands folded behind his back, peering down, looking curiously at the chapter she is reading.

"Miss Mills, I didn't know you had an interest in the human anatomy."

Abbie jumps up out of her chair, dropping the book in the process. Jenny couldn't help but laugh at her sister. Abbie's heart was racing.

"Um, uh, yeah. Uh- I love learning about the human body." she fumbled to explain. "How long have you've been standing there?"

"long enough to know you gave up on your research." He said slightly smirking.

"What was it you wanted to tell us about this demon?" Jenny inquired.

"The demon we are productively researching' he purposely said the word 'productively' looking in Abbie's direction singling her out with his eyes. "....is called the Brocknod and I believe the Brocknod has come out of hiding. While standing idly by in line at the high end coffee establishment, a 'Starbucks' I presume, I had overheard two gentlemen discussing how the police found a woman's remains, literally of just skin and bones. Every part of her intestines were missing. I read that the Brocknod paralyzes it's victim before taking their life but that is not the worse part."

"It's not." Abbie asked with lifted brows .

"No, this creature as I stated in my text earlier, only preys upon virgins. He is able to smell the scent of a young virgin from a five mile radius. Once he finds his victim he spits a venom inside her mouth, leaving her body paralyzed and defenseless for his taking. The victim is then molested by the demon. Lastly, devours the victims intestines, leaving behind the skin and bones."

He eyes the both of them in a serious manner.

"So how do we find this demon?" Abbie asked

"Good question. I say we begin our search up north where the victims body was found."

Jenny reads a text Frank had just sent her. "You guys are gonna have to count me out."

Abbie whips her head around looking baffled at her sister "What!"

"Yeah, sorry Abs. Frank just reminded me I promised to be a fill in for his poker game and I promised I help prepare him for the game tonight. So I need to leave now. I have a funny feeling teaching him Jenny's poker techniques is gonna take all day."

Abbie gave Jenny a displeasing look. "You mean how to cheat."

"Poker? Have you taught me this game before Miss Mills?"

"No, I haven't. Trust me Crane, the game is a waste of time. It's a dumb game my sister took an interest in." she said eying Jenny hard, upset at the fact her sister was backing out on her, leaving her alone with a man she now has a crush on.

"Don't worry Icky, One day I'll teach you how to play." she smiles back at Abbie.

"That would be wonderful. I'll look forward to that day"

"Well guys, I need to take off." on her way to the door she looks back at them " Good luck finding the Brocknod. You two be careful out there. Oh and Abbie, good thing you're not a virgin, for your sake. " she winks at her sister as she closes the door behind her.

Abbie just rolls her eyes. Now she was officially alone with Crane. She did her best to get a handle on her nerves. Crane walks back to his chair and grabs his coat.

"Shall we start on our journey and find our friend."

"Yes, I'll drive." she exits the room hastily to go to her car, Crane barely finished putting on his coat when he noticed Abbie had already left the premises. He blinked his eyes, amazed at how quick she vanished. He couldn't understand why she in such a rush to leave. He'd noticed she'd been acting strange the moment her and Jenny arrived at the archives. First he observed how quiet she was, any other day she'd tease and honor him with her witty humor but today she seemed more timid. The second thing he noticed was how nervous she seemed to be when he was near her. He couldn't make much sense of her abnormal behavior.

He walks outside to her car. Abbie is already sitting behind the wheel blasting reggae music from her stereo. Crane gets in and turns the volume down.

"Is everything alright Miss Mills?"

_No everything is not alright. I didn't expect you to look so damn good this morning. I'm alone in this car with you nervous and afraid of saying something stupid. Seriously though when did you start looking so gorgeous. Even your voice sounds enticing._ _Wait a minute, why am I gushing over your damn voice. I'm acting like I haven't heard you speak before. What's gotten into me. Snap out if. I mean, it's just Crane._

"Yep everything is fine Crane." she puts the car in drive and pulls out into the street and turns the volume back up on the stereo. Crane took that as a hint she was in no mood to talk.

Crane side eyes her cynically. Through out their trip he kept observing how she'd purposely keep her attention on the road while chewing on her bottom lip. He presumed it was from nerves. Their trip was quiet most of the way. The only words that were spoken was Crane informing Abbie he'd taken a map to help them find their way around the area. Abbie just responded with a nod.

"How many more miles til we get there?"

Crane opens the map to locate the exact pinpoint of where the officers said the girls body was discovered. He traces his finger on the map along the route they are driving all the way up to their destination.

"I believe another three miles. Not much further. Miss Mills, your mind seems occupied this morning. Is something troubling you?"

"I told you, everything is fine." she shows him an assuring grin.

He returns her grin and stares at her for a couple more seconds before turning his head to look out his window. He looks at all the evergreen trees they pass feeling Abbie is hiding something from him. Abbie switches the radio station to classical music, hoping it would appease Crane.

_Now I'm trying to impress him. What the hell is wrong with me._

"Miss Mills, Lookout!" Crane shouts when he sees a woman running in the middle of the road waving her arms for them to stop.

Abbie looks up and slams down on her breaks causing there body to jerk forward in their seats The tires make a screeching noise when the car comes to an abrupt stop.

"What the hell" Abbie mumbles to herself.

"PLEASE HELP! PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" the woman cries out.

Abbie and Crane quickly get out of the car. The woman points at the woods to the left of her.

Abbie approaches the woman carefully. The woman looked young, possibly in her mid to late twenties. Her hair was a disheveled mess, her pink dress smothered in dirt, her shoes were covered in mud.

"Okay ma'am, calm down."

The woman is in tears, crying hysterically.

Crane stepped away to take a look at the general area the woman is pointing to. He spots a farm house located a quarter of a mile away.

"Please help me, something- something is out there. I saw it. It was trying to hurt me."

"Okay we're going to help you but first tell me your name."

"Peggy. My name is-is Peggy." she stammers out. 

"Peggy, I'm Abbie. We're going to help you, alright? Don't worry, you'll be safe with us."

Peggy nods. Crane looks back at the two women then back at the woods.

"Are you able to tell us what you saw?" Abbie asked the frantic woman.

Peggy nods her head no at first then opens her mouth to speak. "I'm not sure about what I saw. It moved so fast I wasn't able to get a good look. I just heard it snarling and it was chasing me up until now. I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you more." Peggy looked down at the ground remorsefully.

"Hey, it's okay. What's important now is your safe and I'm going to make sure no harm comes to you."

Crane turns to face the two women. "Miss Mills, I spied a farm house in the distance." He points in the direction of the house. Abbie looks to where he's pointing.

"Peggy, is that your farm house" Abbie asked looking back at Peggy

"Yes, yes it is."

"Peggy, where was the location you had encountered this creature?" Crane asked.

"By a river, not far from here. I was picking berries off of the bushes located down by the bank. I had planned on making black berry pie."

"Miss Mills may I have a word with you,,,," his eyes dart to Peggy's then back to Abbie's ",,,in private."

"yeah sure Crane." she steps away from Peggy to stand next to Crane. They both turn their back on Peggy.

He leans in close to her ear. "Are we to assume this woman is a virgin?"

"I would say yes. That would be the Brocknod's main reason for going after her. I just wish we knew what the damn thing looked like."

"Not to worry Miss Mills, I remember Jefferson's description of the Brocknod in his journal. He described the demon to look almost as similar to a gargoyle, minus the wings" Crane lifts his head away from Abbie's cleverly smiling at her.

"did Jefferson mention how to kill this thing too?"

"Unfortunately he did not." His smiles fades into a frown.

"Wonderful" she replied sarcastically with a false smile.

He leans in close to her ear again. "It is imperative we find this demon before it finds her . I'm sure the Brocknod is tracking her scent as we speak, assuming she  _is_ truly a virgin.The demon will not end its hunt until it is fed."

Abbie nods in agreement.

They both simultaneously turn to face Peggy except their was no Peggy. They both looked astounded at each other. Abbie calls out to her and hears silence in response.

"Where could she have gone?"

Abbie stands with her hands on her hips looking puzzled. They both kept shouting her name and didn't hear a peep in return. Crane walks further into the woods yelling her name, the only noise he received was the sound of a horse snorting in the distance. He assumed it was coming from the farm.

Abbie walks back to her car to unlock the trunk. Crane turns around to meet up with Abbie. Inside the trunk was Crane's crossbow, a dagger, and extra ammunition. Crane comes up behind her, Abbie briefly glances at him when he stands beside her. He could of sworn he saw her body quiver a little when he stepped close to her side. Abbie was doing her best to ignore the proximity of Crane's body next to hers. The nearness of his body wasn't helping her concentration either. She steps to the side, moving an inch away from him to create a gap between them. He moves an inch over to her, closing the gap she made while taking a look at the weapons. Abbie wanted to say something but didn't have the courage to. Instead, she pulls her gun out of her holster and grabs a box filled with bullets. Crane reaches inside the trunk to grab his crossbow.

"I see you came prepared Leftenant." he said as he snatches the arrows for his crossbow.

"I'm always prepared Crane,,,," she firmly states while loading her gun. ",,,,for anything" the gun makes a small clicking sound as she locks it.

He nods. He picks up a dagger and examines the blade. Satisfied, he bends down to hide it inside the back of his boot.

"You really think you're going to need that?" Abbie questioned as she watched him slide the dagger inside his boot behind his calf.

He looks up at her while making sure the dagger is fitting inside his boot comfortably. "One can never be too prepared."

"Right." she said in dryness.

She turned her attention to the woods again.

"How does a person disappear that quick."

Crane straightens up his body and strolls past Abbie. "Perhaps the Brocknod captured the frightened woman as soon as our backs were turned."

"I don't think so Crane. I'm sure Peggy would have screamed for help if that was the case."

"Unless the demon had paralyzed our victim before she could utter a word or make a single sound."

Abbie shakes her head quickly disagreeing with Crane's theory. "There's no way. Had the demon stolen Peggy behind our backs, I'm pretty certain we would have detected it. I mean listen" she puts her hand to her ear ",,,,, it's so damn quiet out here you could hear a pin drop. I think we would have heard it somehow. We weren't standing that far from Peggy. A demon can't be that stealthy."

"Then perhaps we have underestimated the demons degree of intelligence."

"So you think the Brocknod is smarter than we think."

He looked at Abbie in confidence. "I do. Shall we begin our search Miss Mills and hunt down our demon"

Abbie nods "Where should we start?" her eyes roam from left to right, observing the depth of the woods. "there's too much ground to cover."

"I say we locate the river Peggy had mentioned where she first encountered the Brocknod."

"Good thinking. I'll get the map."  Abbie pushes down on the trunk door slamming it closed and walks over to the passenger side of the car to retrieve the map off of the dashboard.

 

They come to an open field of dead leaves and broken branches splayed out on the dirt ground. They stop to have a look around. Abbie opens the map to try and determine how far they are from the river. Crane looks up at the clouds then at the bare trees then back to Abbie. He stalks past her when he sees a figure of a person run past a few trees in the distance. He takes a step back by Abbie's side looking puzzled.

He urgently taps her shoulder trying to get her attention "Leftenant, I believe I saw someone" Abbie looks up at Crane.

"Where?"

"Over there" he stretches his arm out pointing to the right of him.

"Was it Peggy?" she looks to where he is pointing.

"I was not able to tell. The individual was running at a fast pace"

As Abbie is about to step forward to wander in the direction Crane had spotted the person they hear a woman yelling for help from east of the woods. Crane and Abbie start running in the direction the voice came from. They hear the woman cry out for help again but from the opposite direction of the woods west of them. The two begin to run the other way and stop when they hear the woman shouting for help from both east and west of the woods all at once. They look at each other in confusion thinking it couldn't be possible for the woman to be in two separate locations at the same time. East of the woods, they hear the woman yell for help a third time. Abbie stops Crane short with the palm of her hand when she catches him getting ready to head in that direction. He looks at her, his eyes inquiring a reason for her action. Abbie shakes her head slightly no, her eyes warning him. He nods, understanding her meaning. They kept still and listened out for the woman's voice. All was quiet for a minute until the woman cries for help a fourth time from all four directions. Abbie furrows her brows as well as Crane.

"Something is toying with us. I don't think that's Peggy crying for help."

"Could there possibly be more than one person in distress."

"I don't know but I say we find out." an idea popped in Abbie's head but knew Crane wouldn't go for it.

She steps away from Crane and folds her arms across her chest looking down at the ground, apprehensive about pitching her idea to him already knowing what his response will be. Crane took notice of her sudden change in body language and from his view it didn't look positive. He could observe how tentative she was being, but was clueless as to why.

"Crane, suppose there is more than one person in need of help.." she brings her head up to turn and face him. "...or suppose what we're hearing is a distraction. Maybe it's the Brocknod itself trying to throw us off it's trail. I think the only way for us to find out is to split up and head in separate directions so that way-"

Crane cuts her off shaking his head immensely "-No, out of the question. That is what the demon wants. It's best if we stay together-"

"-but what if Peggy is still alive out there and the Brocknod hasn't found her yet. Atleast one of us can locate and still protect her from this demon... and if one of us should run into the Brocknod then we do our damndest to kill it. Worse comes to worse we could always call out to each other for help"

He looks at her incredulously

"Are you willing to take that chance?" he questions with a strong emotional tone behind his words, unable to fathom the lack of common sense she was having at that moment.

"Yes! Look, I get it. You're worried. Crane I'll be fine. I have my gun. If you should hear me fire a round or two -" her eyes suddenly dart around in all directions when she'd thought of another plan that would partially put Crane's worries at ease. "- wait, wait. How about I shoot my gun as a signal to let you know I found the Brocknod."

"And what of the woman?"

"I'll give the same signal." she could see he wasn't buying it. "It'll be fine." he still continues to look unsatisfied. Abbie sighs frustratingly "Dammit Crane, will you please trust me for once" she begged.

He sighs deeply staring at her for a moment, not feeling sure about his decision "I will go along with this notion of yours, only if you agree to meet back here in this very same spot should you not locate the woman nor the demon in half an hour." he lifts his chin in obstinacy with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Deal" she responded fighting back a smile, glad he was willing to compromise.

Abbie decided Crane should be the one to head east and she would head west towards the river. They did quarrel like a married couple for a minute or two about who should go in which direction. Looking out for Abbie's safety, Crane insisted on taking the route towards the river incase the Brocknod should be lurking in that vicinity. Abbie knew Crane well enough he'd wouldn't allow her to take the more dangerous route no matter how much she try and convince him was she able to handle herself. Tricking him was the only way. Back on the drive she remembered Crane took a quick glance at the map land didn't examine it long enough to remember the river was located west outside of the woods. She lied and told him going east would bring him to the river. All he could do was trust her words as she requested. She opens the map to help guide her on her trek. Crane takes another look at Abbie before heading in his direction. Abbie walks away while still looking down at the map. Honestly, Abbie didn't like the idea of separating from Crane but knew it was the only way to cover more ground. Under the circumstances, she had to put her emotions on hold and focus on finding Peggy and the Brocknod. She looks back at Crane as he strides further away into the woods. She sighs, praying that he sees to his own safety as well. 

 

As Abbie was walking along her trail she hears a woman call her name. She stops and looks from left to right. There wasn't anyone in sight. The woman calls her name again. Abbie twists her body around to look behind her then turns the rest of her body in half a circle, her eyes examining each part of the woods, looking for the person that's calling to her. Her eyes grow wide open in relief when she sees woman standing a good distance apart from where she was standing. The woman looked a lot like Peggy. Abbie stalks closer to get a better look.

"Peggy!" she shouts.

"Hello Abbie. I'm so, happy you found me" the woman shouts back.

Abbie noticed something was off about her voice, it sounded more sinister. The closer she walked to Peggy, the more she could see something was different about her demeanor altogether. Peggy's mouth slowly forms a creepy smile. An unsettling feeling rushed through Abbie's body that caused her to stop in her tracks. Peggy's smile was giving Abbie an eerie feeling. She was getting a bad vibe from this woman.

"Why did you run away earlier?"

"I was scared. I needed to find a place to hide." she replied in a voice that didn't sound like a woman's. The voice had an evil, demonic tone.

Abbie slowly moves her hand above her holster getting ready to take precaution "You didn't have to run away. I was going to protect you."

Peggy's eyes dart down to where Abbie's hand is now placed. Her eyes look back up to Abbie's and lifts up her finger, moving it side to side in disappointment as if Abbie had done something naughty.

"Was going to? Will you no longer protect me?"

"Not until you tell me who or what you really are." Abbie demanded. She ready's her hand on the grip of her gun.

Peggy smiles wickedly again  "but the demon will come after me. Do you want that on your soul, to know you let an innocent die in the hands of a demon. To know you will go to hell for your sin, witness" she spat out.

Abbie grabs the gun out of from her holster and aims it at Peggy  "Oh well, I guess I'll have to take that chance."

Peggy's eyes roam to the gun. She begins to walk closer to get a better look  "What a nice toy you have there."

"Thanks, the better to shoot you with if you come any closer. Now, I aint little red riding hood but you sure as hell are the big bad wolf. I think it's time for the wolf to come out of hiding or should I say, the Brocknod. So this was one big trap you led me and my partner in"

Peggy laughs impishly " and where is the other witness. Did he abandon you?" she continues to move closer to Abbie.

"I'm not going to ask you again. Don't move." she threatened.

"Your pretty little toy won't do you any good." Peggy takes one more step then stops. She slowly raises her hands and starts clawing at the skin on her face, tearing it apart. Abbie slowly lowers her gun as she takes in the horrific show happening right before her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The body of the skin falls to the ground revealing the creature's true identity. From what Abbie could see, Peggy never existed, only the demon.

The Brocknod has skin as black as onyx, ivory horns curve out from the side of it's head in a downward half circle, its teeth long and pointy,

The demon stalks closer.

The path Crane follows inclines up a small hill that leads him to a barn. He rolled his eyes, sighing deeply at the fact he'd been tricked. A perturbed feeling brewed inside his blood realizing Abbie had lied about giving him the route that led to the river.

'I have never met a woman so stubborn in my entire existence' he grumbles to himself in annoyance as he stomps away from the barn.

He starts to head back the way he came when he hears the sound of gun fire echoing throughout the woods. His head jerks up at the noise. He knew he'd never make it to Abbie in time by foot.

All six bullets Abbie fired from her gun didn't stop the Brocknod from coming after her. "Shit!" she drops her gun, makes a run for it. The demon puts his thumb and index finger inside his mouth to whistle for his horse. Abbie runs off the trail in between the trees yelling out for Ichabod. The Brocknod mounts his horse and takes off in a different direction. 

Her foot trips over a small tree stump that was barely visible on her path. Her hands hit the ground first as she falls forward. The side of her head impacts the ground last. She didn't hit it hard enough to cause a concussion but hard enough to pierce her skin. She pushes herself up as quickly as she can and looks back to check to see if he Brocknod was close behind. Luckily for her the Brocknod wasn't on her trail. She gets up from off the ground with a puzzling look, wondering where the Brocknod went. 

Eventually she comes to a clearing and hears the flow of rushing water nearby. She assumed the river was not far from the area. Abbie hears another sound, the sound of an animals hooves quickly approaching. The Brocknod comes into Abbie's view, riding his horse at an accelerated speed. Abbie turns to run the other way and stops short when she sees another Brocknod riding his horse in her in direction.

"You gotta be fuckin kidding me" Abbie said to herself. 

She stood still looking from left to right at both demons as they ride towards her from opposite directions. She closes her eyes, praying hard to god to help her figure a way out of this nightmare. Her eyes pop open when she hears a familiar voice calling out her name.

"Leftenant!" Crane yells from a distance as he rides a brown and white stallion through the woods. 

Crane kicks his horse on the sides of his stomach, pushing the steed to quicken his pace. He can see the Brucknod advancing closer to Abbie on his black stallion.

"Cha! Cha! " Ichabod yells. The Brucknod's pay no mind to the tall lanky man riding towards their target, they are more focused on their prize. The hooves of the horse thunder loudly on the dirt ground leaving a long trail of dust that hovered in the air.

"Hang on Leftanent" he uttered underneath his breath as he rides with forceful speed, praying he can get to Abbie before the Brocknod's do. Abbie still frozen in place, looks at both demons and Crane. She can see the Brocknod's have more of advantage on Crane's distance. Crane sharply turns into a different direction making headway on an over pass, he is hoping to intercept the Brocknod coming from the right of Abbie.

Crane's horse pushes ahead, jumping over a fallen tree. The Brocknod is almost near Abbie, his tongue slides across his pointy teeth eying his victim a few feet away. Crane rides his horse in front of the Brucknod across it's path, circles around and grabs Abbie by the arm pulling her up onto his horse. She swings her leg over the other side of the horses back end and scoots closer behind Crane, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

He sees a bridge not too far on the horizon. "Hang on" he said to Abbie as he stirs his horse towards the hill. The Brucknod's are not far behind.  He runs his horse down the hill towards the river. He spies an old wooden bridge with roped railings. He had a plan.  They approach the bridge and pulls on the reins of his horse before crossing. Abbie peeks over his shoulder at the bridge.

"Your not planning on crossing that are you?"

"Indeed I am." he answers still studying the condition of the bridge.

"Are you crazy? That bridge won't hold our weight."

He peers back over his shoulder at her "Earlier, you had asked me to trust you and now I shall ask the same from you. Have trust in me Leftenant." After hearing her own words used against her, in fairness, she couldn't argue with him. She knew he was right.

"I trust you" she replied with a nod.

He runs his stallion across the wooden boards. Abbie closes her eyes and buries her head behind his shoulder, holding him as tight as she could praying they'll make it to the other side of the bridge. Once they've reached the other side of the bridge Crane quickly dismounts his horse, pulls his crossbow out of from the saddlebag and stoops down to place his crossbow on the ground. Abbie leans over the saddle to slide her leg over the horses back. Crane quickly jumps up on his feet and catches Abbie by the waist helping her the rest of the way down after he noticed she was having difficulty sliding off the horse. Abbie couldn't help but blush feeling his strong hands gripping her body holding her steady. As soon as Crane saw that she found her footing he drops his hands down by his sides. Abbie turns around to face him. His eyes looked stern and cold, still unhappy with her lying to him earlier. The way he stared at her reminded her of 1781 Crane. For a minute, she'd almost believed that version of Crane was actually looking back at her. He sharply turns away from Abbie in silence and kneels down to pull the dagger from out of his boot. Wasting no time he begins to aggressively cut the ropes that holds the base of the bridge together.

"I guess that dagger did come in handy."

He briefly glances up at her then back at the rope still sawing through the thick braided strands.

Abbie keeps looking out in the distance, watching out for the two demons. She can see them nearing the hill on the other side of the river bank.

"hurry Crane"

"Patience Leftenant."  he said with an annoyed tone. He saws at the rope as fast as his hand could move. Abbie keeps looking back to see how close the demons are approaching.

"Crane there getting close." Abbie warns.

"I am cutting as fast as I can." sounding a little more irate.

The two demons finally arrive at the other side of the bridge. They both stir their horse onto the bridge. Crane works quickly at cutting through the ropes. Crane knew there wouldn't be enough time to completely cut through all the ropes on both ends of the rail. He throws the dagger at the ground and grabs his crossbow. Abbie watches the demons still making their way across. Crane aims his weapon at the Brocknod. The Brocknod in the lead snares at Crane's ploy. He trots his hoarse at a steady pace towards Cranes direction. The bridge was too old and feeble to hold the weight of both horses. A wooden board snaps loose causing the horses hoof to fall in between the gap and fall on its side tossing the Brucknod off into the rough rapids that flowed underneath the bridge. The second horse tumbles over the other horse the fell on it's side. The other Brocknod flies off the horse into the water as well. Abbie and Crane stand at the edge of the bank watching both Brocknod's disappear underneath the raging water. The cracking sound of wood breaking brings their attention back to the bridge.  The middle of the bridge collapses with the two stallions falling into the fast moving water below. Crane and Abbie slowly back away from the edge.

"hmm, shooting them didn't work but water is the main element that kills them. Who knew" Abbie stated.

"Yes, it appears swimming is not one of their stronger abilities."

He takes one last look at Abbie before striding over to his horse. Abbie follows right behind him.

"Hey! I wanted to thank you for saving me back there."

He moves the stirrups higher to make the right adjustments for Abbie. He wanted her sit in the front this time. He felt she'd be more comfortable riding on a saddle as oppose to bare back.

She stands next to him while he's altering the stirrups height. She wasn't sure if he'd heard her. She tries again. "Did you hear me? I said thank you." she spoke softly.

"Yes, I heard you the first time Leftenant." he replied refusing to give her eye contact.

"Oookay." she looked at him in confusion. "You didn't say anything-"

"-I didn't say anything because I was hoping to hear an apology rather than your gratitude." he curtly said looking displeased at her.

Abbie tilts her head to the side, wondering what the hell he was talking about. "and what am I apologizing for?"

"For lying about directing me on a path that would lead me to the river which had not."

She lowers her head shamefully. The anger in his voice created a sorrowful feeling inside Abbie's heart. She felt bad for misleading him.

"Crane I-"

"-had you honored my request and entrusted me the trail to the river, you would have not been in danger." he points his index finger down to the ground while spilling out his words heatedly.

"Crane I'm so-" Every time she opened her mouth to speak he'd cut her off.

He turns away for a second before facing Abbie again. His cheeks are red and flushed from fury. "- and,,, " he looks at the trees on the other side of the river bank taking a second to collect himself. "- and I trusted you."

Abbie raises her head to look at him. He brings his attention back to Abbie. The thundering sound of the water carries through their long pause of unspoken words.

"Crane I'm sorry for lying to you. I honestly thought I'd be able to handle the Brocknod if I knew I were to come across it. When I came across Peggy, I thought-"

"-Peggy? Why didn't you use your firearm when the girl turned up? I thought we had agreed you would fire your weapon as a signal to alert me as soon as you discovered the girl or the demon itself." he looks at her in disbelief.

"Because when I saw Peggy, I didn't think there was any need to. I thought I was safe until I found out our damsel in distress was actually the Brocknod in disguise, and that's when I didn't hesitate to shoot. I'm sure you heard me firing my gun"

"Of course I did!" he snaps. "I suspected you were shooting at _something._ This horse- " he points at the animal. "-is the one you should be thanking for saving your life. Had I not conveniently found this horse inside the barn I came upon at the end of my trail, I would have not made it to you in time to save your arse. Consider yourself fortunate Miss Mill's." he cuts his eyes away from hers and turns to put his crossbow back in the saddlebag.

_Did he just swear at me?_

She flinched back looking shocked. As minor as the word was, it was the first time she's ever heard him swear. For him to allow the word 'ass' to slip from his tongue, Abbie gathered she must of really pissed him off. She wanted to apologize and explain her actions further but thought it be wise to not say anymore. She's never seen him this angry. If it was any other man she could have easily blown them off and walked away without looking back nor would she apologize, regardless if she was in the wrong or not. Her pride wouldn't allow it. The only person she'd cared about upsetting was Ichabod. It was hard for Abbie to be mad at him, her heart wouldn't allow it. Even in his angered state he looked attractive in her eyes. Her state of mind was becoming inappropriate, under the circumstances. The emotions she put aside earlier were resurfacing. 

_This is not the right time to be swooning over Crane. Why can't I stop staring at him. I can't help but stare at a man who looks like a sexy ass pirate. He kinda looks adorable when he's angry. What can I do to show him how sorry I am, hmmm. What I need to do is stop staring so hard before he notic-_

"Miss. Mill's." he calls, interrupting Abbie from her thoughts. He stands with a stiff upper body, his hands clasp behind his back 

"Yeah Crane."

"I asked if you could please hand over the map so that I may take a look at it."

Abbie sticks her hands inside her side and back pant pockets. She twist up her face remembering when she last had the map. "shit. I must of dropped it back on my trail when I ran into the Brocknod."

"Wonderful." he mutters to himself. His eyes diverts to the sky and takes a  deep breath in and out through his nose to subdued his anger and stay calm.

"Not to worry, I'm sure our friend here-" he gestures his hand towards the horse. "-will be able to assist us on our journey."

The horse looks at them and snorts. Crane holds his hand out for Abbie to take.

"Are you saying the horse knows the way back?" she steps close to him and places her hand in his.

"Yes. A horse can remember part of a route without having to remember everything about it." he guides her closer to the horse. Abbie lifts her right leg and puts her foot inside the stirrup. Crane grips her waist to lift her high enough to grab the horn on the saddle. Abbie swings her left leg over the saddle. Her boots slide inside the stirrups comfortably.

"Thanks for helping me up. Now it's your turn to get on." she leans down to the side and extends her hand out for him to grab. He declines her offer by walking past her hand and standing close to the horses back end. Abbie was a little hurt at first when he chose not to accept her help. Frowning, she straightens up her body and centers her bottom on the saddle.

"Scoot forward" he orders.

She scoots her body closer to the horn. He backs away from the horse, making sure he was at good range to get a running start. Abbie looks curiously over her shoulder at Crane, wondering where he was going.  He keeps moving back until he felt he was far enough from the horse. He stops and sprints forward. Abbie caught on to his scheme as soon as she sees him charging toward the horse. She squeeze her eyes shut, afraid to see the outcome of his plan. Crane runs up to the horse and jumps on without any complications. Abbie opens her eyes when she feels Crane's body snug behind hers. He encircles his arms around hers to take a hold of the reins. Feeling his chest pressed up against her back was making her feel flustered all over again.

_Breath Abbie. Breath._

Crane was silent and still unforgiving towards Abbie. He purposely kept silent throughout their excursion. Abbie could feel how thick the tension was between them. For once she rather have Crane talk her ear off then ride in silence but knew that was not going to happen. She could feel the unfriendly energy radiating off of him. It was too much for her to bare.

"Stop. Can you stop the horse? I want to get off."

He pulls the reins.

"and your reason?" he asked sounding short.

"Do I need to have a reason" she counters. "I would just like to get off the horse. Please." she said turning her head to look at him.

He looked at her puzzlingly then nods.

"Of course." he dismounts the horse first then helps Abbie down. As soon as she's on the ground she treads ahead, away from them, shedding a few tears she held back during their trip. The way Crane was acting bothered her. She needed to distance herself to a hold of her emotions again. Crane went after her. Even though her back was turned to him he could tell something was wrong with Abbie.

"Miss Mills." he bellows as he's trying to catch up to her.

"Leave me alone Crane. I can figure out how to get back on my own." she picks up her pace trying to stray further away from him.

"and how will you manage your way?" he finally catches up to her and grabs her by the elbow to stop her.

Her tears have stopped but the residue of the salty liquid is still settled on her skin. She refused to turn around and face him knowing he'd see the evidence of her tears. She didn't want him seeing her in her weak state. He lets go of her elbow and steps around to face her. Abbie turns to face away from him.

"Miss Mills.  Please. Look at me." his tone less harsh than earlier.

"I need to be alone Crane."

"I will not leave you. That is one request I cannot honor. Going off on your own would not be wise. It's not safe, and your safety is more important to me. Why the sudden change in mood?"

She decides to turn and face him then with an astonished expression "why? because of you. I understand your still angry with me and I wish I could take back what I did, but I can't. I guess an apology is not enough."

His face softens when his eyes cast down noticing her cheeks are stained from wet tears . He opens his mouth to speak when Abbie cuts in.

"Don't. I agree we find our way back together. Nothing else needs to be said." 

It was then he realized his anger pushed Abbie to her limit that had induced tears from her eyes. 

 


	3. Recap

Loud laughter roars from Abbie's television. She was comfortably stretched out on her sofa watching an episode of I Love Lucy dressed in a pink polyester T-shirt and grey cotton leggings, minus her bra and underwear, her hair wrapped in a lavender doo rag. Her eyes were glued to the tv, keeping her mind distracted from thinking about what had happened earlier between her and Crane.

The sound of keys jingling pulls Abbie's attention away from the old sitcom. Her head springs up off the pillow. Her eyes shift to the front door. She instantaneously sits up and grabs the remote control from her coffee table to turn off the television. She suspected it was Jenny returning home from Frank's poker game. Abbie promptly gets up and hurries to unlock the door for her before Jenny had a chance to do it herself. Jenny was surprised to see Abbie was still awake. It was near one o clock in the morning when Jenny had returned.

"hey, you're up." Jenny walks inside and takes her jacket off, hanging it on a hook mounted into the wall beside the front door.

Abbie roams back to the couch.

"Yeah, I can't sleep."

 Jenny's furrows her brows in concern observing Abbie's small cut on her temple. She goes to the couch and sits beside her. Abbie gives Jenny a slight grin.

Jenny reaches up to touch Abbie's cut. "How did this happen?"

Abbie leans away from her hand. "Don't touch it. I fell running away from the Brocknod. It doesn't look that bad, does it?"

"No but what happened today? Did you guys end up killing the demon?"

"Demons. There were two of them and yes." Abbie moves her eyes away from Jenny thinking back at how the Brocknod was chasing her through the woods and Crane rescuing her in the knick of time. Jenny could tell Abbie's mind was somewhere else by how distant her eyes were.

"Does it hurt?"

Abbie could hear her sister but wasn't giving Jenny her full attention. "No." her thoughts skip ahead to what happened later with her and Crane. Recapping in her mind from beginning to end. Playing out different scenarios how she could have saved herself from disgrace. She forced her mind to shut down before she drove herself crazy.  Her eyes return to Jenny's.

"How was the game? Did Frank win?" trying make an effort to sound as if everything was okay in her world.

"Uh, uh. No. We're not discussing the poker game until you tell me what's bothering you?'

Abbie knew Jenny could read her like a book. There was no point in pretending her day went smoothly with Crane. Abbie decided to just cut to the chase and tell her sister before she changed her mind. 

"I fucked up today." she bluntly said.

"What do you mean you fucked up? What happened?"

"I came on to Crane. Not meaning to." she quickly added.

Jenny just stares at her sister. Her mouth ajared.

"Please elaborate" she said raising her brows in curiosity.

Being confronted to discuss  _the_ topic with her sister made her feel uncomfortable knowing she would have to replay the humiliating scene in her mind. She instantly stands from the couch to go to the kitchen. Abbie stops at the entrance of the kitchen and turns to look at her sister showing a distraught expression. She moves away from the kitchen. Her hands are clasped together in front her upper abdomen as she begins pacing behind the couch. Jenny's eyes follow Abbie moving from one place to another.

"Are you gonna to tell me" she said in anticipation.

"Yes, yes. Just give me a second" she stops her pacing and faces forward giving Jenny direct eye contact.

Abbie subconsciously begins pacing back and forth again. She uses her hands animatedly while she speaks. "I don't even know where to begin. A lot of things happened earlier today that led up to that point. Okay,,I'm just gonna fast forward and start from when Crane and I made it back to a barn he had discovered while looking for the Brocknod."

"Made it back to a barn?"

Abbie rapidly flaps her hand in the air, casting off Jenny's inquiry "Yes, we were returning a horse we rode in the woods. I'll explain that part later. It's a long story. Back to what I was saying, Crane and I were inside the barn...."

 

_**Abbie smiles in relief when their horse brings them back to the trail that led to the barn. Crane pulls on the reins, bringing the horse to a halt as they approach a hill. He lets go of the reins for a minute. His right arm encircles** _ _**her waist. Forcefully, he forces her body against his, making sure he has a good grip on her before they ascend up hill. Abbie's body tensed when she felt how close her ass was to Crane's crotch. He takes her hands and puts them on the horn of the saddle.** _

_**"hold on to this."  she encircles her hands around the horn. "Is your grip secure" she nods yes.  
** _

_**He takes the reins in one hand while holding her firmly with the other. A kick of the heels has the horse galloping up the hill.  
** _

_**Crane pulls on the reins bringing the horse to a halt once they've entered the barn. He desperately wanted to break the awkward silence that dragged on for the majority of their ride. The ball was in Abbie's court. It was up to her to break the ice and open up the line of communication. It was hard for him to stay quiet yearning to know the reason behind her tears.** _

_**"Am I responsible for your tears?" His eyes cast down sorrowfully at the back of her hair. She keeps her eyes focused on the horses main pretending his words were not heard. She closes her eyes for a second before deciding to respond.** _

_**"I'm not crying" her voice monotone and leveled.** _

_**"Earlier, you wept on account of my words." he said in a gentle remorseful tone.** _

_**"I did... but your not at fault Crane. I'm just extra sensitive today."** _

_**"Leftenant, If I have upset you, please-"** _

_She **cuts him off  "Crane, can we let it go? Right now I just want to get off of this horse, head back to the car, and go home"** _

_**He nods, respecting her request."Very well."** _

_**"He dismounts first and stands by the horses side waiting to aid Abbie with disembarking the stallion. She slides her left boot out of the stirrup and swings her leg over the saddle. Crane moves closely behind her as she puts her left boot down on the ground, her right boot still wedged inside the stirrup.** _

_**He grabs the stirrup to keep it from moving "allow me." he holds her leg with one hand and uses his other hand to push her boot out of the contraption. He lowers her leg gracefully to the ground.  Abbie whispers a thank you in return. Crane creases his brows in worriment when he observes the minor cut on Abbie's temple. He steps closer to get a better look.** _

_**"When did you acquire this wound" he asked placing the tip of his fingers on the side of her temple.** _

_**She lifts her hand, bringing it to where his fingers are touching the laceration. She winces and hisses in pain as she touches her wound.  
**_

_**"** _ _**I'm not sure. Didn't realize I had injured myself. Must of happened when I was running away from the Brocknod, I remember tripping over a rock or something and hitting my head onto the ground."** _

_**He briskly moves his hand away from her temple as if her skin was scorching his fingers. His eyes mirror the pain and anguish he feels inside his heart and soul for causing harm to Abbie's spirit.** _

_**"I was so blinded by my own fury...." he whispers to himself. "....I failed to pay attention to the impairment that had been inflicted upon your skin. We must see to your wound at once." he starts to walk away when, Abbie grabs his arm and stops him.**  _ 

_**"Crane, I'll be fine. It's not that bad." she touches her temple again with her other hand and lowers it in front of him, her palm faced up in his view  "See, I'm not even bleeding. I'll be okay." she smiles at him assuredly.** _

_**He places his hand gently against her cheek, smoothly tracing his thumb in a circle at the tip of her cheek bone. "Please forgive my childish ill-tempered behavior. I hope in time you will accept my apology."  His eyes bore into hers searching for forgiveness.** _

_**She rest her hand atop of his "I already have." it was hard for her to stay mad at a man her heart fell so deeply for. No matter how much of a pain in the ass he could be. Any flaws he had she was able to over look and accept him for who he was. She could tell by his aggrieved expression he truly felt awful for his behavior towards her beforehand.** _

_**"I know I had apologized earlier but I'm apologizing again. I'm sorry for tricking you earlier."  she said.** _

_**He smiles fondly in return "I have already forgiven you Leftenant. We have both made foolish choices in the past. Just promise me, you will not tempt to face another demon alone. We do not leave each others side. We fight our battles together. Promise me."** _

_**His hand continues to keep it's place on the side of her cheek. She squeezes the back of his hand, inclining her head  to the side, leaning into his touch.** _

_**"I promise."** _

_**He smiles again, at ease from her response.** _

_**She doesn't let go of his hand. Her face slants at an angle into his palm. She breathes in the musty leather aroma on his hand from the reins. Her eyes close, her lips lightly graze across his soft warm skin. He furrows his brows, confused by her imprudent action. "Leftenant what are you-" ** _His eyes flutter closed, relishing in the blissful feeling for a second before promptly reopening them._**** _

_**He locks his eyes on her lips, watching as she slowly drags them lower to the heel of his palm. She pulls his hand an inch away from her cheek and moves her lips down little lower to the middle of his wrist. She flicks her tongue across the surface and presses hers lips against the nerve, kissing and nibbling on the sensitive part of his skin.** _

_**He continues to stare, entranced by her tongue.** _

_**his eyes flutter closed again when her ** _tongue licks and swirls around the middle of his wrist as if it was performing an exotic dance. "Pease stop,..." his words fall on deaf ears as she sucks on the base of his skin. A throaty deep moan seeps from his mouth. He opens his eyes again, trying to pull his wrist free from her grasp. "Please don't, not there"  indicating the center of his wrist._**** _

_****_"Don't. I -"  the tip of her tongue slides in a circular pattern around his middle wrist. He moans again.  
"Please Leftenant, I beg of you. Please stop." he whispers through labored breaths. He tried pulling his hand free from her grip once more, this time with less effort. She ignores his request and slides her tongue smoothly up and down his skin."I cannot-I won't be able to contro- uhhhh," he groans "Leftenant..please, you must stop this at onc-,,,,ahhhh"  he moans lowly and looks away, squeezing his eyes shut. He bites down on his lower lip and clinches his teeth together. He was having a tough time not allowing himself to be tempted. His will power was weakening. Abbie's bewitching tongue was making it hard for him to maintain his sanity. _ ** ** _

_****_"Miss Mills, This is not approp -iate"  he stammered. The sensation of her soft lips and warm moist tongue titillating his flesh aroused his manhood to spring into a stiff engorged erection. He tried holding on to the little bit of self-control that was slowly slipping away._ ** ** _

_****_The caress of her tongue stroking a specific spot in the middle of his wrist was driving him mad. He forcefully jerks his hand free from her hold and without hesitation._ ** ** _ _****_  
_ ** ** _

_****_"Miss Mills, Please, Enough!" in labored breaths, he vocalizes loudly hoping to catch her attention.  
_ ** ** _

_****_Abbie freezes. The harsh tone of his voice snaps her out of her sexually tranquilized state. Her cheeks burn in heated embarrassment. He takes in a long deep breath then slowly exhales. His eyes look away from hers.  
_ ** ** _

__(Oh shit I went too far. What was I doing? I was trying to seduce him, that's exactly what I was doing, which is not like me. What the hell is wrong with me. Great going Abbie. Now he can't even look at me. I don't blame him. I need to apologize, what I was doing was 100% inappropriate.)  
_ _

**__"Crane, I'm-I'm sorry."  she covers her forehead with her hand. She lowers her head and looks down at the ground. Her body quivers nervously, feeling a rush of humiliation flow through her blood. Thoughts of finding a dark corner somewhere in the barn and burying herself underneath a bundle of hay kept crossing her mind. Anything was better then having to look at the person she made a fool of herself in front of a minute ago.  
_ _ **

**__His eyes look to her, torn stricken. He quickly walks past her. She keeps her eyes to the ground, feeling a brisk of wind from his movement.  
__**

**__He stops at the entrance of the barn without looking over his shoulder. "Are you coming?"  he asked calmly.  
_ _ **

**__She looks up at him shamefully and nods._  _ **

**__They head back to her car in silence. Crane took the lead and hastily strode five paces ahead of her. It was apparent he was purposely trying to keep his distance to avoid any communication at all cost, which was fine with Abbie. The last thing she cared to do was talk about what took place in the barn. Communication was usually an important thing to Crane but not in that particular moment. Honestly, if Crane were to ask her to give him a solid reason for her actions, she wouldn't have an answer for him. Even though Abbie was thankful he didn't question her, at the same time it worried her he stayed speechless on the remainder of their walk._ _ **

**__It began to rain on their trip back to the main trail. The rain fall was light. Abbie picks up her pace to hurry back to her car. She catches up to Crane and walks beside him pulling her hood over her head. He side eyes her for a brief second before returning his focus to where the car is parked. She folds her arms across her chest, hugging herself, hiding her hands underneath her armpits to keep them warm. Crane side eyes her again and notices her body is shivering from the cold rain. He takes off his coat and drapes it around Abbie's shoulders while walking. She looks at him and smiles cautiously._ _ ** **__  
_ _ **

**__"Thank you."  
_ _ **

**__He looked away as if he didn't execute the kind gesture. She was a little hurt by his silence but understanding all the same.  
_ _ **

**__They approach the car and hurry inside as it began to down pour. Abbie gives Crane back his coat and starts the car.  
_ _ **

**__  
__** "and that's what happened." Abbie looks at Jenny with a saddened expression.

"Seriously? You guys didn't talk on the drive back?"

"Nope. Not one bit. Drove to the cabin, dropped him off, and came straight home" she walks around the couch and plops her behind on the seat cushion collapsing her hands inside her lap. She shrugs her shoulders "I don't know what I was thinking. Wait, there and lies the problem. I wasn't thinking."

"Abbie, don't be too hard on yourself." she nudges her sisters shoulder. "I'm actually proud of you for making such a bold move."

"Yeah? thanks. _I'm_ not proud" she bends her head over her knees and buries her face inside her hands. "What was I thinking. I'm such an idiot."

"No you're not. You are over thinking it and I'm sure Crane was not appalled by your behavior,, Shocked maybe but not upset. You probably made him nervous." she giggles imagining the mortified expression Crane must of had as her sister tempted to lure him into a sexual romp in the hay.

"He saved my life today." Abbie said peeking over at Jenny.

"He did?"

"Yes, and how do I repay him. by acting like an animal in heat." she hides her face again.

Jenny scoots closer to Abbie and rubs her hand around the middle of her back in comfort.

"Abs stop. You were only acting on your emotions. What you guys _need_ to do is to talk about the issue at hand instead of avoiding each other. The sooner you guys communicate the less awkward it will be between the two of you."

"I don't think I can, not right now." she said sitting up.

"I didn't mean right this second. It's nearly two am in the morning. Crane is probably-' before Jenny could finish her sentence, Abbie's phone vibrates loudly on the end table next to the couch. They both reach for the phone. Jenny swipes Abbie's hand away and immediately picks up the phone.

"Hmm, I wonder who's contacting you at this hour." She smiles secretly to herself when she sees a small text message pop up on the upper left hand corner of the screen. Already assuming the text is from Crane. She knew he'd be the only person contacting her at this time of night. Abbie stares steadily at her sister, catching the sly smile planted on her face.

"Mind telling me who _is_ contacting me since you took the liberty of confiscating my phone."

Jenny hands the phone over to her. "I honestly don't know." she said shrugging her shoulders followed by an arm stretch and a fake yawn. 

"That cunning ass smile you had tells me you do."

Jenny looks at Abbie innocently "I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is, you received a text message. I have no idea who it's from. Anyways, I should be getting to bed. Meeting a friend at the shooting range tomorrow morning."

"Oh? A friend." she inquires with a playful undertone.

Jenny waves off her sisters suggestive remark as she leaves the living room.

As soon as Abbie hears the sound of the bedroom door close she brings her attention back to the phone and enters Crane's birth date to unlock it. She pushes the message icon and reads her text, which was from him. 

**Ichabod** : My apologies for using this form of communication. I hope I have not intruded on your sleep.

She quickly types her response.

**Abbie** : You didn't. I'm awake. can't sleep.

Her teeth bite down on her lower lip, nervously waiting for his response.

**Ichabod** : It seems that makes two of us. Are you alone?

She looked confused for a second.

**Abbie** : Jenny is here but in bed. Why?

**Ichabod** : I would like to speak with you on a certain matter. I prefer in private but this matter must be addressed at once. 

She grumbles, unhappy about the idea.

**Abbie** : Now? ( her eyes look at the time displayed on her screen) it's almost 3 am.

**Crane** : I am aware.

_I know what the topic will be and I really don't want to talk about it. I just want to go to bed and forget the whole damn thing ever happened. I wish he could do the same. Jenny's right though. This can't be avoided. Stop being such a coward Abbie and talk to the man. I mean the worse he can say is 'Miss Mills, I found your behavior today highly inappropriate. I expect a woman who holds such a high position to be able to conduct oneself, blah, blah, blah, blah'_  

She had thought to herself mocking his manner of speaking.

_Yep. I'm sure he'll say something close to that. Shit. Fine._

**Abbie** : Okay. I'll call in a second.

**Ichabod** : no need. I'm outside your door.

Her jaw drops, her eyes are staring hard at the screen rereading his last text over and over again. 

_Did he just pull a pop over?_

To her, it seemed out of character for Crane to stop by unannounced. Not that she was angry. More like she was caught off guard by his surprise appearance. She sent one last text in return before making her way to the door.

**Abbie** : okaay.

She opens the door and eyes a drunk Crane leaning against the door frame, barely able to stand upright. Abbie quickly looked him up and down at a loss and at his sloppy appearance. The left side of his shirt was hanging out from his breeches, strands of hair falling around the side of his face, his coat was hanging off of his shoulders.  A goofy smile was spread across his lips. Abbie stares at him confoundedly. All the nerves she felt earlier, the mushy feelings that swirled inside her heart, the butterflies that invaded her stomach, everything she was feeling earlier had dissipated as soon as she saw how plastered he was. 

He looks over his shoulder for a second.

"Are you aware- there is a winged creature- hiding-hiding- in your garden." He was having a hard time speaking coherently under his drunk disposition. He takes a brief look over his shoulder again. "It keeps...(long pause) staring at me."

She peeks outside in the direction he was looking. The only thing her eyes spotted was a statue of a fairy positioned in-between her daffodil and rose garden located by her driveway. A statue given to her by a next door neighbor in thanks for helping them find their cocker spaniel. They were a kind elderly couple that always invited Abbie over for luncheons, holiday dinners, and tea. The least she could do was put the fairy on display in the middle of her garden to show how much she appreciates their gift.

"Crane, are you talking about that statue right over there?" she points to where he was looking.

He looks back to where she is pointing. "It's a statue? Are you certain?"

"Yes Crane. Now come inside." She opens the door wide allowing him entry. "Just keep your voice down. Jenny is asleep."

He does a sharp head nod and brings his index finger to his lips making a shushing sound.  As he starts to take a step forward he stumbles onto the floor but instantly picks himself back up. Abbie moves to help him but his hand flies up, halting her from coming closer while finding his balance. She folds her arms and waits for him to find his footing. His eyes are half lidded, his cheeks are red as a rose, most likely from the alcohol. 

"I'm afraid to ask but,, how much have you had to drink tonight?" she questions watching him closely, making sure he doesn't loose his equilibrium as he tempts to take a few steps, not in any particular direction.

He stops. His body sways to the side a little. His eyes try to focus on where she is standing "Can you keep-a (hiccup)-secret?"

Abbie nods once, mildly looking back at him. He clumsily waves her over to him. She hesitantly stalks towards him. He leans down to whisper in her ear.

"I discovered where Mister- Mister Corbin kept- kept his- finest bottle of (hiccup) scot-och." he straightens up proudly looking down at her through drunken eyes. He brings his finger to his lips again "ssshh but you mustn't-speak of it-not a peep-to a soul."

Abbie figured he'd been drinking some type of malt liquor after getting a whiff of his breath.

He leans down again, tilts his head to the side and brings his lips closer to her ear. Too close. His breath sent a tickling chill through her spine.

"It was inside the- desk drawer,,,and- I - did not dare - touch it." he whispers. Abbie shifts her weight back and looks at him in disbelief arching up her brows.

He staggers backward shooting another goofy grin.

"You didn't huh"

He shakes his head "No I did not." he points his index finger up in the air "Know this, I Icha -(hiccup) bod Crane, will not be held accountable for procuring another mans posses-sion."

Abbie just shakes her head.

He strangely eyes her doo rag "Miss Mills, I don't remember your hair being (hiccup) purple."

She feels blindly around her head, forgetting she had a doo rag on. "Oh this? It's a doo rag Crane." she snatches it off of her head and combs her fingers through her hair making an effort to look somewhat decent.

"A doo (hiccup) what?" he lifts his brow trying to understand her meaning.

"I'll explain another time. From what I can see on my end, that bottle of scotch you 'claimed' to not have opened effected your ability to sound intelligible" she said heading to the kitchen.

He steers his eyes away, blinking twice, seeming confused at her underlying statement. His mouth opens and closes a couple of times trying to understand what she was implying. He looks back in the direction of the kitchen "Were you - insulting me, just then?" he asked loudly pointing to himself.

Abbie steps out of the kitchen. "ssshhh. Keep your voice down." she said in a loud whisper, gesturing her hands in a downward motion to keep his voice at a low level. "It's not important. What's important is we get some water in your system." she turns back around.

"I would prefer a Samuel-(hiccup) Adams." his voice continues to carry.

It was a good thing she cared a great deal for that man or else her patience gauge would have read empty a long time ago.

"Sorry, fresh out. Water will have to do." she plainly told him. She opens the cabinet door above her sink to grab two glasses.

He does his best to keep his body up straight while looking at a picture of a young Abbie framed on the wall by the kitchen entrance. He walks towards the photo to get a better look.

"Mind telling me how you got here." she opens the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"I (silent hiccup) walked." he answered still staring at her photo, captivated by how cute she looked wearing a wonder woman costume. He smiles adoringly at her photo.

She unscrews the bottle cap and pours water in his glass  "Walked? I'm sure that was _at least_ a five mile hike. I can't believe you walked all the way here and I'm amazed you remembered where I lived under your circumstances. I guess your eidetic memory still works even when your intoxicated." she finishes pouring his half of the bottle then begins to pour her glass.

"I'm that good left-tenant (hiccup)" His eyes look up when he sees her coming out the kitchen holding two glasses of water in each hand. His fingers caress the edge of the wooden frame.

"Mind if I ask- (silent hiccup)- how many years are you in this photograph?" slouching his body over, he takes another look at the photo as if he's studying every detailed pattern on the costume. A tiny gasp comes out of her mouth when she sees which photo he's ogling at. She quickly steps in front of it, leaving her really, really close to him.  She quickly takes a sip of her water to hide her embarrassment.

"I-I was nine. Here, drink this." she said shoving the glass in front of his face, forcing him to straighten up.

His face contorts into a bizarre expression as he examines his water before drinking it. "I must - (hiccup) must say. You have not aged-(hiccup) at all." he holds his glass in the air as if he's toasting and takes a sip.

_I have never seen him this drunk. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen him drunk. Tipsy maybe but nothing like this._ _There has to be a good reason why he got himself shitfaced tonight. I'm pretty sure that reason has to do with what happened earlier today._

She makes a quick observation at the limited space between them.

_How did I end up so close to him._ _I'm almost literally standing right on top of him. If we were to stand any closer we'd be kis-_

Crane interrupts her thoughts "Miss Mills, leftenant," Abbie drags her eyes over to the two baby blues lethargically staring at her. "I'm sure you are pon-dering the reason for- for my inebriated con-dition." he slurs out.

_Does drinking give people the fucking ability to read minds? How in the hell did he know?_

He takes a step back after realizing how close they were.

She goes over to the couch and sits on the armrest. "It's cause of me." she looks down at the floor then looks guiltily up at him. "-isn't it."

He drinks the rest of his water without taking a breath. Abbie couldn't help but watch his adams apple bob up and down while swallowing down a mouthful of water. 

"Yesss." he said trying to catch his breath from guzzling down his beverage.

His eyes follow her as she stands to grab the empty glass from his hand. She sets it down on the end table beside the couch.

"Crane, now is not a good time to have a discussion, about anything. I say we revisit whatever it is you wish to discuss when your sober."

He cautiously walks towards the couch to where she is sitting. "I-' he points his index finger at his chest. "-will remain here' he says as he points down to the floor "until " he twist up his face, sucking on his tongue, as if he tasted something sour on his palette "-until- until the room stops spinning." he covers his mouth refraining himself from vomiting. Abbie puts down her water next to his and grabs his arm to guide him around the front of the couch . She carefully sits him down and bends over looking at him in eye. Her hands gently grip his shoulders

"Are you going to be okay?"

Keeping his mouth covered he shakes his head yes.

"You sure?"

His head shake starts out as a yes then turns into a no. He holds up his index finger, motioning to give him a moment. He jumps up from the couch and hurries to the guest bathroom located not far from Jenny's bedroom. He closes the door loudly behind him. Abbie cringes from the sound, hoping it didn't wake Jenny. It was too late. The noise of a door slamming ends her peaceful slumber . She promptly hops out of bed and rushes to see what the commotion was. Abbie follows right after him to make sure he's okay. She stops abruptly when she sees her sister already standing outside the bathroom door. Jenny looks at Abbie baffled.

"Wait, if you're out here. Then who's in there?"

Abbie gives an exhausted sigh as she approaches her sister "Crane."

"Crane?"

"Yes. He paid me an unexpected visit. Said he needed to talk to me. But now, at this moment, he's in no condition to do anything, not even stand on his own two feet." she explained frowning.

"Is he, okay?'

"We shall see" Abbie lightly knocks on the door. "Crane, how you doing in there?"

He flushes the toilet then gradually opens the door. 

"better." he said weakly.

After Jenny took a good look at Crane, she knew all too well what was going on, well enough to sum up the whole night in two words, drunk Icky. The pale face, the red eyes, and how sedated he sounded, not to mention, the smell of malt liquor on his breath.

"Oh my god. Your wasted." Jenny said showing a cocky smile.

"Jenny!" Abbie glances at Jenny disapprovingly.

"What? I'm just stating the obvious."

"I know but can you be a little bit more sympathetic."

Crane lowers his head as he brushes past them.

"Where you going?" Abbie follows behind him.

"The cabin. I must rest." he looked frail and flushed.

"Uh uh. You're staying here tonight. You're in no condition to walk anywhere.  I'll take you back to the cabin tomorrow morning."

He didn't have the energy to argue with her. Jenny helps Abbie escort him to her bedroom.

"Where are you taking me?" he looks at them with frightful eyes.

"I'm giving you my room." Abbie takes off his coat and hangs it up in her closet. Jenny turns down the bed for him. He was unwilling to sleep in her room at first but as soon as he laid down on the comfort of soft bedding, he instantly passed out. The two sisters leave the room quietly.

"Wow, how much did he have to drink?" Jenny asked

"Not sure but I want to say, possibly, a whole bottle of scotch" Abbie yawns and makes her way to the linen closet. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions as to why he's drunk, but right now, all I want to do is go to sleep." she said grabbing a blanket and a pillow.

"Did he talk about what happened earlier?"

"No. He wanted to and I think he actually was going to, until he got sick." they both walk into the living room.

Abbie drops her pillow onto the sofa and unfolds her blanket. She spreads the blanket onto the cushions and lets out a deep sigh as she stands in silence looking plagued.

Jenny puts her arm around Abbie's shoulder "Are you going to be alright?"

Abbie grins and holds her hand, giving it a quick squeeze."yeah, I'll be fine." she said quietly.

"Get some rest." she squeezes Abbie's shoulder before letting go.

"Jenny?"

"Yeah Abs?"

"Thanks for helping me out with Crane."

Jenny gives her a hug. "Anytime. That's what sisters are for, right?"

Abbie smiles in return.

 


	4. Keeping it real

Morning came, Jenny had already left for the shooting range. Abbie was in her backyard sitting in a wooden chair by her patio table. Her facial expression was content and calm. It was sunny a day. The sky clear blue with little bit of cloud particles scattered in crazy patterns. The sound of birds chirping a repeated melody could be heard in her lemon trees. In the distance, faint swooshing sounds of cars driving by. Abbie was feeling pretty good for only getting four hours of sleep. She slept soundly and peacefully. Luckily her sleep didn't get interrupted upon Jenny's departure.  Abbie had always been a sound sleeper. If she were to rise early, it was only from what her body is accustomed to, especially when it came to her job, and now more importantly, her new role in the world. Sleep became a privilege ever since the horseman of death and demons entered the world. Fortunately, the demons her and Crane have encountered, so far, favor the witching hour. Only a few have shown their presence during day light.

But today was not a day to hunt. It was a day for discussion, a day for truth, a day for her to face her fellow partner. Abbie's eyes were half lidded, staring down at the buttercups swaying in the settled wind. She sits in silence pondering carefully how she will approach the subject. Of what transpired at the barn and at her house yesterday evening. Lost in thought, she failed to hear Crane opening the patio door. He calls Abbie's name while stepping outside into the warm air. She looks in his direction. Her expression now passive and unreadable. He looks back at her in abashment, feeling self-disgust by his actions from the night before. 

She slowly rises from her chair to give him her full attention. His skin had not returned to it's normal coloration. His face still looked pale but not as pasty as it did after he was put to bed yesterday evening. His eyes squint trying to prevent sunlight from blinding his vision.

"Morning." surprisingly, his voice was at it's full range as early as it was.

Abbie grins back at him in a way that is warm and caring. "Morning. How are you feeling?"

"Fair." he takes a step forward. He can see her more clearly now that he removed himself from the rays that were shining down on him. She herself takes a step forward in his direction.

They both remain silent, unsure about how to proceed with the inevitable talk they know they need to have. His eyes roam away from hers and looks at a lemon tree behind where she's standing. First he clears his throat, then hesitantly opens his mouth to speak. His fingers fiddling nervously at his sides.

"Apologies for my inappropriate behavior last evening. I was not myself nor my norm to drown my troubles in a fifteen aged bottle of scotch." his eyes look up at the clouds as he carries on. "It's been ages, for as long as I can remember, to have found myself unduly inebriated. I suspect you think me a fool." his eyes slowly roam down to hers.

She shakes her head "No, not really." she states in a 'matter of fact' tone. "I'm, sure you had your reasons. and...I'm sure those reasons had something to do with me." she said with a gentleness in her tone. It was hard for her to look into his eyes after addressing the main underlying issue at hand. Her eyes fall to the ground then back up to him.

For a minute he was caught off guard, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, unsure of what to say next or even how to respond. His eyes blink a couple of times while finding the courage to bring up 'the topic'. Even though, last night, Crane was ready to dive right in and talk about the reasons behind his special unannounced visit, and would have if had his body not rejected the harsh liquor that nested in his belly. But of course now that he's sober all the courage he found last night, now lost. He stood quietly with troubled eyes focused on a patch of whispering willows swaying in the soft breeze.

"I know I was the reason Crane. You don't have to say it." she kept her eyes on him while his continued to avoid hers.

After another minute of silence his attention broke away from the willows and surrendered his focus on her.

"Why?" there was a little quiver in his voice. Part of him was afraid to ask, or know the answer but inside his mind, he was curious to know the reasons behind her bold actions inside the barn.

Nervously, she bites down on her lower lip before speaking "Honestly, I don't know why." her eyes cast down taking in a moment of thought "Well, I do know why. I understand why it happened but, never thought it'd be you." she chuckles, finding the whole thing humorous for some odd reason.

"I must have lost my damn mind."

He looked confused for a moment.

She looks the other way for a second, shaking her head. Her right hand is on her hip while her left hand moves animatedly in front of her as she speaks. "Alright, I'm just gonna flat out say it. " she shrugs her shoulders as if she has nothing to loose. "Crane, I have feelings for you."

He looked lost and confused. A drawn out silence stood between them for a minute or two. He heard her but wasn't sure what her confession meant.

"What- sort of, feelings per se?" he hesitantly asked.

Her eyes cast back down to her slippers while her left hand rubs the back of her neck. "Deep- caring- maybe ro-man-tic?" she slowly answered. Her eyes scroll up to his.

All he could do is stare back at her in complete surprise. His mind was a blank. His voice lost to him. His mouth slightly agape.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. It just did. I didn't expect to grow a fondness for you, in  _that_ way." she said quickly.

A mix of uneasiness and sympathy fell upon his appearance. His fingers stopped its fiddling and circled around his backside to clasp together.

"I thought perhaps you've been possessed by the Brocknod." the corner of his mouth lifts into a smile. "It puts my mind at ease knowing that is not the case." his piercing eyes drill into hers still keeping his celestial smirk in her view.

Abbie couldn't help but allow herself to get lost in his enchanting aqua crystal blues. The color of his eyes looked transparent enough for her to be able to see her own reflection. There was a bit of a glint in his right eye, which only you can see if the sunlight hits it at a certain angle. Everything she felt for him came rushing and racing back inside her heart.

_Damn, I hate when he looks at me that way. Makes me... ugh never mind. I can't believe I told him how I felt. I don't regret it though. We promised each other no secrets. I told him mine, and, I feel good about that. I feel better now that I got that weight off of my chest._

A sigh escapes his mouth, preparing himself mentally for what he has to say to Abbie.

"Miss Mills, you are an intelligent, strong, extraordinary, and lovely woman. With that being said, I'm sure in the near future, I shall hope a proper suitor will cross your path and court you properly and- and -truly be capable of returning your affection equally. I am highly flattered by your,,,, sentiment. I hold too much admiration for your position and character. You are, as well, a good friend to me and I _do_ care for you,,, as a friend. I would not for see it any other way." He said in a low hushed voice. His face now serious.

Abbie's heart starts racing. Nervously she fiddles with a piece of string hanging off of her shirt.

_I'm not okay. I'm not okay. Good advice Jenny. Tell Crane how I feel. I'll have to remind myself not take anymore of Jenny's advice. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Of course he wouldn't feel the same. He's the type who wouldn't want to ruin a good thing. Can't really be mad at him. I mean, he was just being honest._

Abbie did her best to create a smile believable enough to make him think his response

 didn't effect her feelings.

He furrows his brow, suspiciously reading her expression. He could tell her smile was hiding an unwanted truth.

"Are you- alright?"

Abbie quickly answers. Her smile grows even bigger. "I'm okay. Just fine." she said waving her arm at him.

Mentally he never saw or thought of Abbie as more than a friend. What he just said was not bullshit. It was all true. He did have a place in his heart for Abbie but only as a partner and a true friend who has been there for him through toughest times. The timing was bad with the whole demon hunting and preparing for another big bad to come across their path. It's not like he wasn't attracted to Abbie, he thought she was one of the most beautiful women he's ever seen. Katrina was beautiful in his eyes too but Abbie had a presence and essence about her that made her look radiant. The times when he'd seen her dressed down to flannels and sweats with her hair in roller's, she still looked beautiful from his perception.  It pained him to see how sad Abbie looked. Abbie just kept quiet for a while and slowly moved past him to the patio door. Yes it did sadden her to know he didn't feel the same in exchange. Jenny was sure he did from what she observed with her own eyes, anytime she was around the two of them. Observing his subtle bewitching glances, his flirtatious comments, how happy he seemed in her company and wanting to be by her side at all times. She was sure, well, more like hoping, he felt the same emotionally.

He didn't follow her inside. Instead, he remained outside, stuck in thought, replaying his words to her over and over again.

Abbie's phone rings. She looks at the caller id to see Reyes calling. She takes the call.

"Mills."

"lieutenant. Good morning. Glad I caught you." her voice contained excitement.

"Was I suppose to report in this morning. I thought I had the day off, but if you need me to come in -"

"-No, no. I have news to tell you. Good news actually. I received a call from the FBI--"

Crane started pacing back and forth like a tiger imprisoned inside a cage, taking quick glances at Abbie on her cell through the patio door. An overwhelming feeling of guilt invaded his soul. It didn't sit well with his conscious knowing he could have possibly hurt her feelings but in all honesty, he could not bring himself to lie about his true feelings. The discussion was not over on his behalf. They still had more to talk about. He needed to understand what brought about her deep emotion for him. Abruptly he stopped his pacing and walked to the patio door. As he slides the door open, Abbie ends her call with Reyes.

Crane slowly slides the door closed behind him furrowing his eyebrows together in concern. "Is something the matter?"

Her eyes gradually look up to his uncomfortably. "No, everything is fine." she said softly. "That was Reyes. She had just informed me about a job offer to work for the Federal Bureau Investigation , Sheriff Reyes referred to me to a good friend of hers that works for the FBI. A Mr. Daniel Reynolds. He's one of the people in charge inside the department" she sighs. "She thinks it would be in my best interest to take the job. I had intended on joining the FBI a while back but put my plans aside once the horseman came into town, after witnessing Corbin's murder, and after meeting a man telling me he rose from a grave he's been asleep in over the past 230 years, who claimed to be a 17th century soldier who's also a spy for George Washington, and of course, explaining to me how my role plays into this whole-' she waves her hand around in the air ' -apocalyptic, end of days" A look of regret in her eyes. Her tone bitter and hurt.

His eyes looked away in guilt after hearing Abbie's summary of how his presence changed her life for the worse. He had nothing to say to her resentful confession 

"and what did you tell her?"

"I told Reyes, I'd take the job." she stated quietly.

Crane closes his eyes and turns his head the to the opposite direction sadly away from her.

"The Bureau wants me to start training tomorrow morning. So, which means, I have to leave for Quantico tonight."

He sighs and slowly turns his head to look at her. "For how long will you be gone?"

"It could be from 4 months to a year. I can't say for sure." she said shrugging her shoulders.

At first, the news she just delivered initially made him sad and worried, knowing she would no longer be by his side, to loose a partner to help in fighting demon crime, together they made the perfect dual. When they put their brains together they've managed to overcome any obstacle. He felt twice as sad knowing she'd be gone for a good length of time, and so soon. But after hearing what Abbie had been willing to sacrifice to keep the world from being overruled by hell itself, he realized he needed to act like the friend who truly does care about her well being and happiness. From the way he heard her talk about joining the FBI, in his ears, it sounded as if it had always been a dream of hers. He wanted her to go and live out her dream. As much as he knew he'd miss her company and would love for her to stay, he'd rather see her happiness fulfilled.

His frown slowly turns into a soft smile "Know that you have my full support in your decision. I wish you the best of luck on your journey Leftenant."

Abbie's eyes lit up in surprise. She was sure he'd make a fuss about her leaving town. It wasn't like she was abandoning their mission. She knew she'd be back by his side once training was over. They still have to face their second trail of tribulations and prepare for whatever evil is next.

She takes tentative steps towards him and wraps her arms around his mid waist, squeezing him in the most heartfelt hug she's ever given him. He slowly brings his arms around, encircling them around her back, rubbing his hand up and down her spine. He rests the side of his temple atop her hair.

"Thank you Crane. She mumbles into his chest.

He fought hard not to tear up. "I will miss you Leftenant." he whispers into her hair.

Abbie didn't want to let go. If she could, she'd stay his embrace til sundown.

_It feels so damn good to hug him. Why does he have to be so emotionally unattainable.  
_

She knows she'll miss him but doesn't speak the words.  Instead she gave him a tight squeeze around his waist after hearing him share his sentiments.

He immediately turns around and wipes a tear from his eye.

"Crane, are you okay?" She could tell he'd was trying to hide the fact that he was crying.

"Yes. I'm quite alright." He turns back around and shows a forced smile.

Abbie knew he wasn't alright but kept her inquiries about his tears to herself.

"I guess I should call Jenny and tell her the good news."

He nods in agreement. "I'm sure your sister will be happy to hear about your new position."

She shrugs "who knows with Jenny, but hopefully, I'll have her support as well." she looks at the time on her phone.

"Maybe it be better to share the news with your sister when she returns." he said almost as if he was asking a question.

She shakes her head in agreement. "You're right. I'll give her a call and ask her to come home when she's done at the range."

"Let her know it is imperative." he lifts his brows smiling sincerely this time.

"Good idea." Abbie goes to her bedroom while scrolling through her call log list finding Jenny's number. He sighs once more and turns to go outside into her backyard.

For him, there was no point in bringing up their earlier discussion after hearing Abbie's confession pertaining to the way she feels for him. This was Abbie's moment to mentally prepare herself for her transition in her career. He didn't feel it'd be the right time nor did want to say anything to ruin her moment. Casually, he heads to the lemon tree and stands in a shade made by the bundle of leaves on a branch hovering over him. He tilts his head back closes his eyes, deeply inhaling the citrus scent. He loved the smell of lemons. It reminded him of a time Abbie arrived to pick him up at Corbin's Cabin. Once he sat inside the car he detected a fresh lemon odor coming from her skin, as well as observed how shiny the tone of her skin looked on her forearms and her face. She apologized for being late. She had promised to take him to the library before they closed. Fortunately, she'd arrived at the cabin an hour before the library closed. Crane could have cared less about the library after being drawn in by the wonderful smell coming from her body.

He opens his eyes and stares up at a blue jay perched on a branch above him. The bird was chirping two different tunes in a high pitch whistle. It starts pecking at a lemon that wasn't fully ripe. He smiles fondly at the bird as he watches it. His heart and spirit was at ease. He felt good for some strange reason. Maybe because of the cool warm breeze kissing his skin, or seeing the sky at its clearest with only a speckle of clouds scattered about, or the fact it was a beautiful morning altogether. It didn't matter what the reason was. All that mattered was Abbie is now able to continue on with her life on a different path that will help advance her role as a witness. It's not like she was never coming back. He knows one day she will return. They couldn't stay apart forever, he wouldn't allow that to happen. Even if it meant going to the ends of the earth to find her he'd do everything in his power to make it happen. Their bond is too great to be severed or kept apart. He remembered reading a passage in the bible somewhere, to overcome the evil that lies ahead they must conquer it together. One cannot do without the other.

Abbie comes from out her bedroom looking down at her phone talking to Crane assuming him he's still in living room. She pushes the end call button then pushes it again to return to the home screen.

"Okay Jenny is on her way back-' she looks up and doesn't see him.

"Crane? Crane?" she noticed the partially opened door. She walks closer to the door to see Crane standing by her lemon tree looking up at the sky. She slides the door all the way open and steps outside.

"Hey, everything alright?"

He closes his eyes again and answers calmly. "Yes. Never better."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I'm enjoying the fresh air." he takes a good whiff of  the powerful citrus smell  coming from her tree. "Your lemons smell divine."

For a second she does the same and breaths in the lovely scent "They do smell good." she moves closer to him in the shade. "So Jenny is on her way home. I can take you back to the cabin after I tell Jenny the news. I have a lot of packing to do and can't be distracted."

He quickly shoots her a strange glare. "Distracted? and who pray tell are you referring to?"

"You." she smiles.

"and how could I possibly be a distraction. If anything, I'd think my assistance be helpful in your preparations for your long journey."

"Thanks for the offer but this is something I need to do alone." She gives him two quick pats on his chest. "and you would be distracting me by-" she had to think for a moment.

_You'd be distracting me by every physical quality I don't have access to._

"-by being in the way" she bluntly stated. "No offense Crane but you ask about every single gadget and item I own. I just need time to myself, okay?" she insisted politely.

He tried not to feel or look offended by her words. Instead he just nods his head letting her know he understood. "Very well. Will I see you before your departure this evening?"

"Of course. I wouldn't just skip town without saying good bye, especially to you" she said amazed he'd even ask her such a question. 'Crane, you are one of the closest people I have in my life right now. I would never leave without saying good bye." she turns to go back inside the house. He follows behind.

"My apologies. I have offended your character. It was a foolish question." he mutters to himself.

She stops near the sofa to face him. "It's okay. You weren't sure. I understood why you had asked."

He moved closer and takes her hand in his. "You are the closest and dearest person, besides your sister, I value within my heart." He places her hand on the right side of his coat where his heart is. 'You will always have a place here, no matter the distance between us."

"Same goes for me." 

He lets go of her hand. She keeps it on his chest.

Jenny walks in the front door full of energy.

"Hey guys!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay on this chapter. I know I made Crane unavailable emotionally, I thought I'd give my story a little twist. I swear it will get better. People do change. :) Thanks for sticking with this story so far. I promise. Abbie and Crane's relationship will shift. Can't say how.


	5. Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the months delay in this chapter. I know what I have written is not completely accurate to the start of this season of Sleepy Hollow but chapters 1 through 4 were written before the show aired. Didn't know about the 'Daniel already dated Abbie' thing before we got the backstory on those two. Hopefully you guys can still enjoy my unfinished story. I'm kind of doing my own version as well. Sorry no Icabbie moments in this chapter but I promise in later chapters their def. will be Icabbie goodness. Icabbie will def. be end game. Okay enjoy everyone :) Thanks to all who have read my fic so far and for the kudos. I really appreciate it.

"Where is it? where the hell did I put it? It's gotta be in here." Abbie gripes frustratingly while searching through some boxes sitting on the top shelf above her clothing rack inside her bedroom closet. There was an old diary she stored away when she was a little girl and inside the diary was a picture of her, Jenny and their mother standing in front of a ice cream parlor. It was so long ago since she hid her diary she couldn't remember which box she placed it in. That picture meant a lot to Abbie. It was the only picture she had of their mother dressed up beautifully in a green dress with black polka dots, her hair done up in a French twist, and wore the most beautiful, heartwarming smile upon her face. It was a special day for them. Mama Mills wanted to treat them to ice cream as a reward for both of them scoring high grades on their report cards. Mama Mills was so proud that day. Her and Jenny had to have been no older than ten in the photograph. Abbie wanted to have it with her during her stay in Quantico. 

A round purple box with a white and yellow flower patterned design fell off the shelf while Abbie was recklessly shoving empty boxes to the side trying to see what's behind them. the box nearly hit Abbie in the head as it came crashing down to the floor. Luckily she had good reflexes and quickly ducked out the way. She gasped from the initial fear of almost getting hit in the head. She puts her hand to her chest when her heart starts racing. She tries to breath normally and calm herself down. She looks down at the round object and slowly stoops down to take the lid off the box.

"Well I'll be damn." she mutters while eying a royal blue book with gold cursive writing inscribed on the front that says 'Memoirs To Keep' inside the box.  A joyous grin appears on her lips, relieved to finally have found her diary  and after many years in good condition. She picks up her diary and slowly straightens up. Without looking away from her diary, she takes three steps and carefully sits down on the right side of her bed while opening her journal to the first page.  Her eyes skimmed the first entry and flipped through the next few pages in search of the photograph.

"Where are you? I know you're in here." she mutters as she continues flipping through more pages.

As Abbie turns one page after another her eye caught a small corner of a picture sticking out near the end of the book. When she pulls the picture out a piece of paper folded up four times into a small square falls to the floor. She puts the picture down on the bed beside her for a second to pick up the piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and began reading what was written.

 

Forty minutes later, Jenny arrives back at the house from dropping Crane off at the docks. Jenny had offered to take Crane back  which Abbie didn't want her sister to do but he had asked Jenny to take him to the docks instead. He had wanted to take a look around inside the shops for a going away present for Abbie.

Abbie hears a light tap on her opened bedroom door. She was still sitting on her bed hunched over staring at the piece of paper resting on her lap. A troubled look covered Jenny's face when she notices fresh tears leaking out from the corner of Abbie's eye. She knocks on the door with the back of her knuckles lightly again.

"Permission to come in?" Jenny walks in without waiting to hear a response.

She sits down on the bed next to Abbie and puts her hand on her sisters shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Abbie shakes her head, sniffles and wipes wet tears underneath her eyes with her thumbs. "Nothing." she croaked out.

"I was reading something I wrote a _long_ time ago." she smiles and laughs silently to herself. "I can't believe I wrote this."

Jenny squeezes her shoulder and smiles back. Her eyes peek at the paper. Abbie glances at Jenny then looks at the paper again.

"I found this inside my old diary." she said holding the paper out to Jenny. Jenny takes the paper from Abbie's hand. Her eyes passes over the paper briefly. Abbie smiles as she continues. "Remember when Mama gave this to me on my seventh birthday?" she picks up the diary and places it on her lap in Jenny's view.

Jenny grabs the diary off of Abbie's lap to take a closer look. "Yes. I remember. I also remember how much it meant to Mama for you to have one. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal to her for you to have one- not until she told me how creative and wild  your imagination could be. She loved that about you though."

Hearing how much their mother loved her story telling made Abbie feel so good inside her heart. It put a warm smile on her face. "I remember Mama telling me she loved hearing about all my adventures with my imaginary friend.'

"You had an imaginary friend?" Jenny was tickled.

"Yes I had an imaginary friend."

"and you kept your 'friend' a secret from me why?'

"Because I know you Jenny. You would of teased me til no end. I felt the need to make up a friend when I wanted to talk about certain things I didn't think I could share with you."

"Like what?" Jenny asked offensively.

"Like my stories, for one. And what I wrote on the piece of paper I handed to you."

Jenny gave her an apologetic smile. "Abbie, I'm sorry if I wasn't a good listener when it came to your stories- but cut me some slack, I was only seven. The only thing that had my full attention was my dolls. I'm sure over the years if you had shared your stories with me I would have appreciated them more."

Abbie just gives her sister a forgiving smile. "I believe you."

"Mama told me I needed a diary to write my stories in, because they may not be far from the truth and If any of them should come true I can always look back inside that journal and see the written proof for myself." She picks up the paper she gave Jenny to read.

"Were you crying earlier because of Mama?"

"Yes and no. I was reading something I wrote on my birthday. It just reminded of why Mama enjoyed my stories. More like a good memory." She holds the paper in front of her.

"Can I look at what you wrote?"

Abbie hands her back the paper. This time Jenny's eyes move from word to word thoroughly reading Abbie's story from the beginning.

"It's not really a story but a wish I knew would never come true. I remember reading a lot of books about fairy tales with happy endings. I wished for my own happy ending. I wished to meet my prince charming -"

Jenny stopped reading and looked up to listen to Abbie.

"- who comes from a land far away, riding on a white stallion and takes me away to his castle. We'd live on a land surrounded by acres of  beautiful flowers." she closes her eyes and voices her next words from memory, visualizing everything she was describing, as if he was actually standing in front of her while she was painting a portrait of him in her mind. " my prince has bright blue eyes, Dark hair. Didn't matter how long or short. Tall and thin, but not too thin. I wasn't sure what to call facial hair when I was child so I just wrote he'd have fur hiding the bottom part of his face. "

Jenny chuckles.

"He'd have a cute smile, be smart and witty, like a dry sense of humor. A good person who is kind and caring who looks out for his people in his large kingdom. We'd fall in love, get married and live happily ever after." she opens her eyes and embarrassingly looks at Jenny. She felt silly for sharing such a ridiculous wish she perceived in her mind.

After hearing how Abbie viewed her prince she raises her brows looking at her as if she's discovered a hidden long lost secret. "did you notice anything _familiar_ about your description?"

Abbie looked confused. "no"

Jenny slaps her across her arm with the paper "Are you kidding me? You just described Crane. The only thing you left out your portrayal of prince charming is his accent."

Abbie sucks her teeth and rolls her eyes as she pushes herself off of the bed to grab more undergarments out of her dresser. "Only you Jenny."

"Think about it Abs. Crane fits most of your description. You said your prince has blue eyes, a beard, dark hair. So does Crane!" she skims the story until she gets to the part where Abbie describes her prince's characteristics and reads faster. "Your prince is smart, witty. That's Crane. Your prince is kind and caring. Also Crane, and to add tall and thin?' she looks up at Abbie shooting her paper towards her direction. "How do you not see it? Its clear as day. Crane has all these attributes. Mama could have been right, what you write may not be far from the truth" the subject came to a halt when she spies the right side of the bed the picture. She picks it up taking a closer look.

"Where did you find this photo?"

Abbie turns to see Jenny holding the picture. Her eyes open wider unexpectedly. "Oh I forgot to mention the picture. It was inside my diary. I thought I'd take it with me while I'm at the academy."

Jenny covers her mouth trying to contain her tears. The picture brought back a great memory for her. That day was special for Jenny as well. It was the first time she seen their mother dressed up and happy for once.

"Abbie, I'm so happy you have this photo. I thought it was lost all this time. Mama looked so lovely that day, didn't she?"

"She did" Abbie voiced softly. She thought for a moment and felt Jenny deserved to hold on to the photo, observing how sentimental it was for Jenny. "You know what, I want you to keep the photo."

Jenny shakes her head refusing Abbie's offer. "No, I can't. Please, take it with you."

"No Jenny." she wasn't going to let Jenny win this one. "I would rather you have it. I don't want to argue about this." she turns back around to continue grabbing bra's and panties from the drawer.

"We're not arguing. Okay fine, I'll take the photo. Thank you for letting me keep it."

"Oh you're not keeping it. You're just borrowing it." she strides over to the closet to grab her carry on.

Jenny cuts her eyes away. "Well thanks for letting me borrow it. So did Crane ever tell you his reasons for coming over last night?"

Abbie bends over reaching for a pair of boots hiding near the back of her closet. "Yes and No to answer your next question."

"How did you even  know what I was going to ask?" she asked not really sounding surprised.

"Because your predictable. I know the way you think. So no,-' she straightens up out of breath "- he's not interested in me. You were wrong about Crane."

Jenny looked surprised. "He told you that?"

Abbie shrugs "Yes. He was honest about his feelings. I'm mainly in the friend zone, which I'm cool with. We don't need to have anymore complications to deter our mission. Anyway, I've moved on from it. Right now my main focus is getting packed before midnight." she throws her boots aside near her carry on.

"But what exactly did he tell you?"

Abbie aggressively snags her shirts from off the hangers. "He told me in his own words that our friendship means more to him. It's hard for him to see past that and only that." with her last words she throws her shirts inside the carry on.

After watching Abbie forcefully pull her clothes off of the hangers and uncaringly shove her shirts inside her suitcase, she observed how not okay Abbie was.

"Maybe he's in denial."

Abbie stopped what she was doing. "Denial my ass Jenny." she throws her hands on her hips. "Why can't you understand Crane is not interested in me. and I said I'm. Fine. With. It." she said gritting her teeth in anger.

Jenny throws her hands up in surrender "Okay, sorry. I won't bring it up anymore."

"Thank you." Abbie grins tightly and continues on to the bathroom to get her toiletries.

"Just so you know, _I am_  glad that you decided to still pursue the FBI." she yells out.

Abbie comes back with her hair dryer in one hand and a make up bag in the other. "thanks. Wasn't sure how you felt about it"

"Abs, you deserve this. I think you're going to make a great FBI agent. How did Crane take the news?"

"Hmm, he was supportive. He didn't seem  happy at first though."

"Well, you guys have been at each others side daily. Being separated from one another probably will leave a void in his heart. In time I'm sure he'll be fine."

Sadness shadowed over her anger suddenly thinking about Crane being on his own. A reassured feeling replaced her sorrowful mood when Jenny uttered the words "Don't worry about Crane. Even though he's temporarily loosing one Mills sister, he'll have another one in place, by his side"

Abbie smiled in relief. "Thanks Jenny."

                                                

                                                        ************************************

 

At the docks, Crane is scouting shops one after the other. He wasn't sure what to get Abbie. He just knew it had to be something special. Jenny gave him enough cash to get an item affordable and valuable, hoping he'd get her a ring. At first he declined the amount of money she handed to him but Jenny kept insisting he take it, going on about how expensive the shops were at the pier. After enough persuasion he kindly thanked Jenny for the money and promised to repay her once he found work, which he intended on doing. He craved to be more independent in this new era. Having to rely on someone else to pay his way for food, clothes, bills, luxuries didn't sit well with him, if anything, made him feel uncomfortable at times and broke the rules he followed through his older traditions. He felt it was time for him to start looking for a job and earning his own wages.

Crane comes out of an antique store, looking disappointed after browsing for twenty minutes and also, what he thought was a waste of time browsing a bunch of horrid, distasteful, trinkets of no value that had no business being put on display, as if they're jewels passed down from royalty. His movements still when he hears a little girl humming a familiar tune. His eyes curiously scan the vicinity from where the boats are docked near the bistro café. The place brought back memories of the day he had his first taste of a frothy cappuccino on an outing with Abbie.

The humming continues. He pivots around. In his view he sees a little girl with white pale skin, long dark hair, wearing a dark blue dress with little ruffles at the end of her short puffy sleeves, wearing a dark blue bow in her hair holding a small box. She was standing in front of another antique store named 'Sacred Treasures". The little girl was happily swaying side to side while entertaining herself with the box.

The tune finally made a connection to Crane's brain. It was a tune he had heard Abbie hum one day when they were doing research in the Archives. He strode over to the little girl in caution not to scare her off. The little girl stops humming when she hears him approach closer. She turns and smiles at the tall thin man who is towering over her tiny form. He smiles back in return. He slowly stoops down to match her level of height and show the little girl some assurance that he means her no harm.

"Hi. I'm Sally" the little girl said cheerfully. She shoots her hand out in front of him.

He tenderly shakes her hand, being mindful of the size of his hand compared to hers. "Hello. My name is Ichabod Crane."

His eyes shift to the box then to hers intrigued. "What do you have there?"

She giggles then holds the box out a couple of inches away from her face so he may get a closer view. "It's my new toy. Haven't figure out how to open it yet but I will. Wait! Maybe you can open it for me.", her eyes full of hope.

He smiles softly and takes a look at the box, examining all angles. "May I have a look?"

"Sure!" she hands him the box. The box is a dark charcoal grey with vine like patterns crisscrossing around each other. The box felt light in his hands but not light enough to be empty. He shook the box side to side and felt something tumble across from one end to the other. He peers at the surface of the box again drawing his brows together. He then lifts it up above his eyes and voices out a contemplative ' _hmm_ ' as he inspects the bottom of the box. He lowers the box at chest level while rising to his feet.

The little girl bites her bottom lip while studying his actions carefully. He could not find one opening visible on any part of the mystery box. He look saddened for a moment knowing he let the little girl down. He solemnly shakes his head and hands the girl back her box.

"I'm afraid your box does not have an opening."

She doesn't take the box back. "Look again." she insisted, smiling sweetly at him.

He sighs deeply, choosing to humor the girl, hoping his last attempt to find an opening would suffice. He takes a closer look at the box once again. The girl looks around to see if anyone is nearby or watching. He turns the box in his hands, examining all sides again. Not one single slit, crevice, split could be found. The little girl looks back up at him curiously. Just when he was about to hand the box back over to her the top of the box snaps open. Inside, light and smoke spiral around in a vortex. Appearing to be some type of wormhole or gateway to where? he didn't know and wasn't about to find out.

As much as he tried to look away, he could not. His eyes grew wide, drowning in the pool of light. His lips part to speak but his voice was lost. He wanted to close the lid but he could not will himself to. He was enchanted by the light as if it was calling his name, whispering secrets that are forbidden to human kind.

The girl takes a step back smiling deviously. "Like what you see, witness." she giggles mischievously enjoying the little surprise she had waiting for him.

He was frozen, unable to move a single limb. The palm of his hand holding up the bottom of the box. The other constrained by his side. A woman steps out of the antique shop dressed in a dark charcoal grey cloak, the hood of the cloak partially shadowing from her forehead down to the bridge of her nose, her eyes shielded in darkness. She stalks slow and gracefully towards the girl and rest her hands on her shoulders. The little girl looks up at her as the woman looks down at the little girl with a broken smile.

"Do I get a treat now? I did as you asked." she smiles brightly up at the pale woman now frowning at the young child.

"Not yet. Not until it's complete." she now looks at Ichabod in pity. She speaks to him in a soft and low voice "How does it feel to know you are the reason your son is now lost in a vortex where his unrested soul is drowning and begging to be saved, To know your wife's death will always haunt your spirit, your heart, your soul. Tell me Ichabod... do you mourn over your beloved, cry yourself to sleep knowing you sacrificed a life to save another'. He could hear every word spoken to him but could not find his voice to speak, only compelled to listen, hearing the light repeating and echoing the woman's words, misleading his mind with false truths.

"Does it hurt, to know, the life you helped create betrayed your love."

He struggled to shut his eyes and look away from the vortex. He so badly wanted to close his ears and prevent her venomous words from poisoning his mind but found himself helpless.

"Are you not tired of hurting the ones close to you. The light is not a reflection of your weakness but the solitude you require. Absorb it, do not fight the heavenly abyss calling out to you" She steps closer to him and pulls her hood off of her head. He feels her presence getting closer "Murder is a heavy weight to bare. Guilt resides here." she places her hand on the right side of his coat where his heart beats. "It's time to say goodbye to the guilt you have captivated inside your heart. Leave sleepy hollow, allow the ones near and dear to live without your burdened life meddling in theirs. Walk away now before it's too late." Her words broke through a barrier he struggled to create to shield his mind. His will had vanished. The vortex helped hypnotized his mind into believing he had been a dead weight for Abbie. Remembering how happy she looked for that brief moment she was asked to join the FBI, It was a dream of hers she was finally able to fulfill. He was convinced stepping out the way, removing himself from her life would be best. There was left over guilt from Katrina's death. It pained him to be reminded of what he had to do to save Abbie's life. It pained him to know he lost his family that never was and in that moment, the only person he blamed was himself.

The light whispered along with the woman's corrupted words tainting his thoughts. Pulling him through a glass mirror making him perceive the world he lived in a cold, desolated, dark fortress, with no windows to allow sunlight to shine through, no where to exit, just stoned walls entrapping him with shadows of his own guilt following him everywhere.

She removes her hand from his chest and looks straight into his eyes. A tear slowly leaks from the corner of his unmoving eyes. "Fear is what holds you back. The unknown is waiting to be discovered. the best gift I can offer is respite from the role you were marked since birth."

The top of the box shuts closed. His eyes blink a couple of times trying to comprehend his reasons for being at the docks. The woman's appearance transitioned from wearing a cloak to wearing a dark green dress with a brown cardigan sweater. Her hair pulled back into a low sophisticated bun. She lost the dark age look and transitioned herself into an image similar to a Stepford wife. The child too blinks her eyes repeatedly trying to remember where her father was. The box was no longer in Crane's hand but disguised as the woman's purse. The woman smiled kindly at him. He looked around at the stores then back at the woman and the child.

"Where's my daddy?" the little girl had no memory of all that just happened not too long ago before her.

The woman looks tenderly down at the little girl "There, there child. Your father is waiting for you inside the ice cream parlor." The woman points to the ice cream shop next to the antique store across from them.

The girl excitedly runs inside the ice cream shop after spotting her father at the counter getting samples of different flavors. The woman looks at Crane again smiling. Crane eyes the woman suspiciously at first then returns her smile.

"Are you waiting for someone?" the woman asked.

He shakes his head with a confused look "no, actually I was just on my way." he voiced more confidently. He knew he was on a mission to do something but couldn't remember exactly what. The false mission she had planted inside his head forced  him to remember after taking a few seconds to think about it. He remembered his mission was to leave Sleepy Hollow, thinking he needed to find his own solitude away from the abnormal town, to make peace within himself after what happened with Katrina, to remove the burden he brings into Abbie's life. The last thing he wanted was to be extra baggage for her. He turns to depart the docks. The woman smiles in satisfaction as she watches him walk further away.

                                                           

 

                                                                   **********************************

 

Abbie drives up to cabin. She gets out the car, runs to porch and up the stairs to the door. She knocks on the door three times. After waiting a few minutes for him to open the door. She gives three more hard knocks. Usually she could hear Crane's gigantic boots clunking around but didn't hear a sound on the other side. She rest her ear against the door. Barging in would be the next option. She knew he wouldn't mind. It's not like it would be the first time she's invited herself inside. They're way past the formalities of waiting for permission to enter but still, it didn't seem right for her to barge in without knocking first, just incase he wasn't decent. Common courtesy was something she always believed in. She paused at the thought, imagining Crane lounging around in nothing but his breeches. His boots and shirt tossed on the bed, his hair loose and wild. Yeah that would never happen. It was a nice thought for the moment but in her case, more like wishful thinking. She shakes the thought from her mind and decides to make her way in. The cabin was quiet. Too quiet. The only noise she heard was the water dripping from the faucet in the kitchen.

She calls out his name. No response. She takes a quick look in all the rooms. No sign of Crane. Her phone vibrates inside her jacket pocket. She pulls it out and slides her thumb across her screen to unlock her phone. There was a text message from Jenny.

**Jenny** : call me asap. It's imp.

Abbie calls her right away. "Yeah what's up?"

"I just received a phone call from Crane. He said he tried to reach you but couldn't get through. You need to call him Abs. He told me to tell you he needs to take time away from Sleepy Hollow."

"What??" Abbie moves her head back, wrinkling up her face trying to comprehend what he meant.

"I don't know Abbie. all I know is he plans on leaving Sleepy Hollow. He didn't say why. Before I had the chance to even ask he said an elderly couple was nice enough to spare funds to pay his bus fare, thinking he was without a home. I'm sure his out dated clothing had something to do with that. I'm assuming he was at a bus station."

Abbie combs her hand through her hair doing her best not to panic. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Did he say where the bus was going?"

"Nope. He just said he call back once he arrived at the next town. Why would Crane up and leave?"

"I don't know, but, I'm gonna call him and find out. I call you back."

She ends her call without leaving room for Jenny to speak. She bites her lower lip nervously, praying she gets a hold of Crane, hoping he's okay and wondering if he's lost his damn mind. The phone rings three times. _Come on Crane, pick up, pick up_. She gets his voicemail after the fifth ring.

"Crane! where are you?" she starts pacing around the room, tucking her hand underneath the pit of the arm while holding the phone. "Please get back to me. At least let me know your safe." she ends the call and slowly lowers her arm to her side. Her eyes cast down, staring sadly at the wooden floor feeling a mixture of emotions dancing inside her heart. Anger, betrayal, sadness, hurt, shock, fear all having their own party except for one emotion that never received an invitation and purposely left out, happiness.


	6. Reuniting

 

**Nine months later**.

Abbie is speeding down the freeway after receiving a phone call from an officer working at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center about her colleague Ichabod Crane. She was informed he had been detained for trying to enter the country with restricted materials. It was just like Crane to get himself into some sort of trouble. After not hearing from him in nine months she was relieved to know he was okay but at the same time, angry and hurt to finally hear from him, only to meet him about a certain matter and to bail him out most likely.

The pressure of her hands grip on the wheel caused the circulation in her blood to come to a halt. Her eyes were narrowed, her mouth in a tight line.  _That son-of-a-bitch now decides to contact me after nine months. Not once did I receive a phone call, an email, not even a damn letter, just letting me know if he's okay or not, or even to see how I'm doing. Where the hell was he all this time? Can't wait to hear his explanation for up and leaving. He could of at least have given me a formal parting. I should leave his ass at the I.C.E. Ichabod Crane, you are something else._  She mumbled her annoyance and shook her head in disbelief the rest the drive to the I.C.E. Detention Center.

After she had arrived at the detention center, an officer escorts her to the visitors hall and gestures his hand in the direction to where she can sit and wait. She takes a seat looking displeased and nervous. Nervous about her reaction when he finally walks out his cell door. A door she was afraid to fixedly look at while anxiously waiting. Wondering if harsh words will spill from her mouth from all the pent up anger she held within. Nervous tears will flow from her eyes, tears of joy to see with her own very eyes, he's alive and tears of anguish, knowing he'd left without a proper good bye, not bothering to check in to let her know he's safe, healthy, most importantly, his whereabouts.

When she heard a voice on the overhead they were now opening cell 515, along with the sound of the buzzer unlocking his cell door, she looked up to see him walking out of his cell. Any anger or hurt she felt, faded instantly the moment she laid eyes upon him. All of him. His new hair. His blue eyes. His new hair. His orange uniform. His new hair. Her heart was racing, too fast for her liking. She did her best to keep her breathing calm and measured. His eyes sought hers. His mouth parts just a fraction when he first caught sight of her. A small happy relieved breath escapes him. He strides over and quickly takes a seat across from her.

Nine months ago, Abbie was falling for this man and it took her three out of those nine months to remove any emotional attachment she had towards him. That wasn't going to change anytime soon. She promised herself awhile ago, during her time in Quantico, never allowing herself to be vulnerable for someone insusceptible. Not that she perceived Crane to be cold blooded but found it selfish of him to leave, with out a care, not even considering how'd it effect her and Jenny. She understood his possible reasons for leaving Sleepy Hollow, only to an extent. At first she had to bite her tongue from bombarding him with the abundance of questions running through her mind. He chose to speak first and bring her into the loop as to why he decided to finally contact her. The moment he spoke and began to disclose his reasons for calling she cuts him off wanting, no, needing answers as to what happened to him after his disappearance. The least he could do is give her some type of explanation if she is to help him out of the I.C.E and sign the papers to allow him full access to the tablets he tried bringing into the country. He'd at least owed her that much. He understood her inquiries and why the sound of her voice carried such resent. He gave her the best explanation he'd thought would suffice her curiosity. It was partially vague but informative enough to earn the forgiveness he saw in her eyes. She leans back in her chair to listen to all he had to share. 

On their drive back to her new office at the Bureau. She filled him in on her new position and any other changes that occurred while he was away in his own travels. Abbie as well, discussed where she'd want to be in her life in the near future.

 

**Two weeks later**.

The two witnesses became acclimated with each other after their nine month hiatus within the very first week. Jenny had moved into airstream trailer she found that was abandoned  on her way to the shooting range. She wanted to give Abbie her space and have space of her own. Giving Abbie the freedom to have her house to herself was her welcome home present to her sister after her return from Quantico. Abbie had offered to share her home with Crane, explaining to him the time he was gone, Joe Corbin had returned and now resides at his fathers cabin. Crane accepted her offer and mentioned it'd only be temporary, until he found a place of his own.

Crane was very helpful around the house. He did his and Abbie's laundry, being mindful of not washing her unmentionables again, if he'd ever found them in his pile of dirty clothes inside the hamper they shared, after one day accidentally finding her lingerie and panties mixed in with his laundry while folding their clothes. He would clean the wooden floor using the swiffer. Clean her windows. Wipe down all her furniture. Fluff her pillows. Water her plants on her front porch. He did whatever he could to help around the house seeing that he was unemployed and not able to help pitch in with the bills. Abbie appreciated his help out and always made sure to thank him by treating him to take out or buying him more sweets than his stomach could handle.

Within the first week Crane, Abbie and Jenny had reunited, hell on earth broke loose in Sleepy Hollow all over again, literally. Evil had returned. They came across a new player in town called Pandora, a mythological woman known to unleash all evil of humanity. Unfortunately, Pandora made sure to erase Ichabod's memory of his first encounter with her at the docks on the day he left without saying good bye to his colleague prior to her departure for Quantico. The same day Pandora put false reasons inside his mind for wanting to leave Sleepy Hollow in the first place.

Yes. Everything was almost back to normal with the exception of battle-ling Pandora's minions, until one day. She was gone. A sacrifice made to save her sister. Returning the Anubis, an ancient stone that weld uncontrollable dangerous power. Returning the stone from where it came.The underworld. Abbie was well aware of the risk she was taking, the life she was giving up, the people she would leave behind. Her last words: _Take care of each other_. Her final last words when she breaks eye contact with her fellow partner and turns knowingly, without a second thought, towards the ghastly, dark abyss inside the pit of Pandora's tree, if you could call it that. More like Pandora's twisted creation of a plant that fed off of peoples fears, broken love, deception, hatred, unforgiven painful memories, ongoing nightmares, agony. Enough to drive a mad man crazy. Crane's eyes begged and pleaded for her not to go. Not to sacrifice herself once again, not without him. Abbie ran inside the gateway to hell itself? To a world of the damned? That Abbie did not know. It was a place Pandora had opened the doorway to allowing her easy access, to enter and leave as she pleased. A place where her husband, referred to as  _The Hidden One,_  had been dormant for the past dawn of ages.

**Five Months Later**

"bloody hell!" Crane immediately sucks on his index finger trying to relieve the throbbing pain after accidently cutting himself with the carving knife while slicing tomatoes on the cutting board. He was preparing a salad to go along with the peperoni pizza Jenny had brought over the night before. He turns on the kitchen faucet and runs cold water over his finger, hoping it will help relieve some of the pain. Luckily, his finger only bled a little. He thought it was strange how he could feel so much pain from one minor cut.

A faint knock on the door reached his ears. He looks over his shoulder in the direction of the door. There is another knock. He turns off the water and grabs the dish towel, that was neatly folded next to the dish rack, off of the counter. He dries his hand and throws the towel back on the counter as he turns to head to the door. He slides the cover to the side and peeks through the peep hole. A cold shiver runs through his body when he views the person standing on the other side of the door. It was his leftenant. The woman he though of on countless sleepless nights. The woman he swore to hunt down once he found a way to open up the gateway inside that dark minister looking tree. The woman he never had the chance to utter his true confession to.

Her face worn and bruised.  Her eyes lost and sedated. Her mouth formed into a small frown. Her black shirt ripped at the edge and near her neck line, claw like patterns slashed along the back of her shirt and around the inner part of her thigh near the seam of her pants. Dried up blood smeared across her knuckles. The stench of death still nested in her clothes, hair, and most unfortunately, her memory.

His body was in complete shock once he took sight of the small statured woman he dreamed to reunite with and hold and not willing to let go again. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or dreaming. He blinked his eyes repeatedly and squeezed them shut for a second, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. He re-opens them.  His eyes were not playing tricks as he stands in utter shock, as if he was frozen in time, still witnessing a miracle. Just to be sure, he had to open the door. The door makes a small creaking noise as he slowly opens it. Her eyes slowly inch all the way up to his.

In one faint breath he whispers her name "Abbie" His eyes water in alleviation, relieved he can now erase the worse speculations that nested inside the back of his mind. His Leftenant was home. How she got there, he hoped to soon find out. But at the moment it didn't matter. Witnessing how very much alive she is _is_  what mattered, most importantly. He needed to touch, feel her, carry her inside, if she felt or gave him any sign she was to weak to walk on her own. Hastily, he takes a step forward. Abbie takes a step back. Her eyes looked fearful and unsure. Her mouth was trembling. She hugs her arms around her chest, taking on a defensive stance, watching him closely. He stopped the moment he saw her reluctance to allow him to close the space between them. He frowned and furrowed his brows together, confused as to why his presence would frighten her. He took another step forward again. She too, took another step back. He didn't want to push her away so he takes a step back. Judging by the way her eyes was studying him skeptically he knew this was a battle he could not win. He had to remember she has been to the underworld. No telling what she's been through. She could have been tortured or imprisoned in her own hell reliving it no telling how many times. 

He holds up his hands letting her no he means her no harm. "Abbie" his eyes stayed connected to hers. His voice is broken, fighting to sound strong "Abbie, It's okay. You're home now. You're safe. No harm shall come to you." he looked her over once, inspecting every part of her tattered clothing, the blood stained on strands of hair that hung low near her jaw and neck line. He wanted to take her inside the house and clean her up. Get her a change of clothes. Feed her. Comfort her. Tend to her wounds.

There is a long drawn silence. Crane was debating in thought whether or not to go back inside the house and call Jenny right away. Abbie kept her eyes on Crane as his hands remained out in front of him in surrender and stayed perfectly still.  

"Is this real? Are you real?" Her tentative eyes search for any sign of hope in his.

As he lowers his arms by his sides, he gives two quick nods to confirm she is indeed back home. A tear finally escapes the corner of his eyes. She takes a cautionary step towards him and then another. She uncrosses her arms and relaxes them by her side.

She exhales with ease. "Crane" she whispers. Her eyes start tearing up as well.

He nods again. "Yes Leftenant. It's me." he answers choking back a sob. His voice is broken, hardly audible. His lips struggle to smile. Another tear falls from his eye.

Her tears match his. The willpower to storm up to her and pull her body into his is weakening. Now that she knew she was safe, she could allow her walls to fall and embrace the man before her. They took one giant step toward each other and stopped. Their heavy breathing is the only sound heard between them and the cars driving down her street. He didn't move another step. He wanted her to initiate the next move, giving her the room to make the final decision. Her decision was made when she takes two quick steps cutting off the distance and encircles her arms around his abdomen. He returns her sentiment eagerly and wraps his arms around her back, squeezing her as tight as he could without doing any harm. Not willing to let her go. She presses the side of her face against his chest. She closes her eyes, taking pleasure in his warmth, his comfort, in the peacefulness she's found inside his arms. He rest the side of his head on top of hers. His eyes filled with more tears of joy. He has his Leftenant back.

She opened her moist eyes. Not bothering to keep her tears at bay. "They let me go." as the words were spoken her constricting arms give him a tight squeeze.

He lifts his head. "What did they barter for?" he was thinking if they chose to allow her to leave, whomever 'they' were. Did she have to give them or promise them something in return. The one thing that was more valuable and sacred to humankind, he hoped to high heaven she did not hand over her soul in return for her freedom.

"Sophie. She found a way to cross through. Don't know how.. but she did." she squeezes her eyes shut, remembering witnessing the other agent offer her life to the gods in return to set Abbie free.  She holds him even tighter, if that was possible.

She feels his body tense up. He rubs her back in small circles with his right hand while his other hand cradles her head to his chest. His chin now resting atop her head. There were too many questions about what had happened to her while she was trapped in the pit of hell, questions he felt were not appropriate to ask at this time. He would bring up the topic another time, a time when she has grown accustomed to this world again.

 

                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Abbie is standing in her bedroom looking clueless at the closed bathroom door. The thundering noise of water running was the only sound she heard on the other side of her bathroom, added with a couple of long drawn out strokes mixed with splashes. She presumed Ichabod was running a bath but didn't understand why he had wanted her to wait outside while he tended to his own bathing. He swings open the door and signals her to come in. He steps aside so she may have room to walk past him. Abbie looks around and sees a fresh pair of clothing neatly folded on her porcelain counter and bath water filled at the brim of the tub. Ichabod walks up behind her.

"I thought to run you a bath. I presumed you'd want to cleanse yourself..." He turns to leave. She doesn't turn her head to watch him go. Instead, she steps away and looks down at the folded clothing. Eying her shirt in a daze, her hand slides around the soft cotton material below the neck line. Before he closes the door behind him to give her some privacy he turns to look at her. 

"I'll tend to your wounds once you're clothed. I will contact your sister and tell her the miraculous news. Should you acquire anything, I shall be in close proximity." he smiles closes the door behind him.

_It'll be good to see Jenny again._ She smiles in thought. Unfortunately, her happy mood is ruined when another thought crept in and took over. Sadness fell upon her face. Her smile transitioned into a frown.

_Damn them. Damn them for showing me what's to come. What has to be. Damn them for showing me a fate I cannot escape from. I hate them. How do I know they weren't lying. I don't know if I can tell him. Maybe I can change it somehow._

She slowly undresses while staring at her image in the mirror. A slow examination commences at the bruises imprinted on her right shoulder, right hip bone, under her right breast and her left wrist. She was lucky to make it out alive with minor injuries. Pain, unexplainably, had not registered to her brain. Her body felt numb more than anything. Soreness covered the joints in her arms, only a bit but other than that she felt surprisingly okay, for someone who's been through hell in actual hell. A memory she wished to erase.

She undresses herself slowly. She kicks her tattered clothing over to the corner by the door. Carefully sticks her foot in the water testing out the temperature. It felt warm and inviting. Her foot lands at the bottom of the tub. Another foot dips inside the water. The water makes a loud splashing plopping noise as soon as her bottom his the base of the tub. She hugs her knees into her chest and rest her forehead atop her knee caps. She could hear Cranes muffled voice on the other side of the door. Most likely on the phone with Jenny. For a brief moment, she wondered how her and Crane coped during her absence. She had hoped they truly did look out for one another. Hating herself for doing so, she allows deep wounded tears to surface from the pit of her heart, letting all the exhaustion, the fear, the mental struggle, the knowledge that she now has to except, show all that she's fought to internally hide from Crane. It didn't matter if Crane was on the other side listening in, making sure she was still breathing. She was no longer able to hold back what she felt inside. Shortly after, what started out as a small whimper turned into a long hard well-overdue cry.

Crane quickly ends his call with Jenny when he hears Abbie crying. He rushes over to the door and knocks a few times. "Are you alright?"

Abbie lifts her head. Her eyes feel swollen and heavy. She wipes away her tears with the back of her hand. More tears wanted to leak out but she holds them back. She had to keep it together. She sniffles and nods, telling herself she can do this. To be strong for Crane and Jenny's sake. She sniffles once more before answering "I'm fine Crane."

"Are you certain?" he wasn't buying it. He knew what he'd heard.

"Yes. I'm doing just fine in here. I need to finish bathing " She had hoped she sounded convincing enough for him to walk away.

"Yes, of course. I shall leave you to it. Oh, I had contacted your sister. She will be arriving shortly, along with Mister Corbin. They will be most astounded to see you. Especially your sister."

"It'll be great to see them too."  she voices softly.

"Jenny and Mister Corbin, as well as I, have many inquiries as to-"

Abbie cuts him off "Crane, I need time. I'm sure all of you have questions concerning what happened that day. I"m not ready to talk about it. Maybe I will be, in time." She stares down at the bubbles floating around the water slowly dispersing.

He nods. "My apologies. Forgive me. I had not meant to sound so intrusive." he voices apologetically.

"It's alright. Just promise me to not bring that day up and to ask the same from Jenny and Joe, not until I'm ready to share." she lowers her knees, her legs stretch out in front of her and slides her bottom half down and forward sinking lower underneath the water. She rested her upper body against the back of the tub.

"You have my word.....

Leftenant?"

"Yes Crane?" she closes her eyes and waits for him to speak.

"If time is all that you require then take as much time necessary" 

"Thanks Crane." She lets out a deep satisfied breath when she hears his footsteps fade in the distance.

She grabs the sponge off of the plastic hook hanging a foot above her head. Then sits up and leans forward to grab the Saint Ives body wash from the left hand corner of the tub. She lathers her sponge with the body wash. Her hand pauses. She closes her eyes for a moment to concentrate on relaxing her mind and locking up her torturous emotions. She had to stay strong. That's who she was. Not a weak, pitied soul. No more tears. No more. Now she had to be the woman she once was before her journey into hell.

                 

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"Oh sis! It's a damn blessing you're alive and here, pigging out on some mac and cheese." Jenny was smiling heavenly at Abbie while watching her grab more spoonful's of mac n cheese Joe had made from scratch. Cooking was not Ichabod's forte. He decided, after burning a chicken he tried to roast for Jenny and Joe a month ago, that he'd leave the cooking to Boston Market, or some diner nearby. He ate take out most of the time, almost every night. On occasions, Joe would cook a nice lasagna or beef stew for him and Jenny. Joe had learned to cook at a young age. His mother taught him at only nine years of age. There'd be times Joe would have to cook or make sandwiches for himself when his mother would have to work graveyard shifts at the hospital. She was a nurse in the Westchester County Critical Care Unit. His father, August Corbin, never did much cooking. At such a young age, Joe became the main chef in the family. His specialties were blt's, pork chops and roasted potatoes, blackened salmon, scalloped potatoes, his bacon mac n cheese, Shepard's pie, and roasted Mullen spiced duck. Jenny was super impressed once she stumbled upon his gifted qualities. She instantly fell in love with his knack for cooking five star cuisines. At first she was a little hurt he'd been holding out on her but quickly got over it with a night of filet mignon paired with fine red wine, finishing off the evening with a chocolate mousse cake paired with blissful sex.

Abbie piled a large spoonful of mashed potatoes onto her plate then covered her potatoes with mounds of gravy. Everyone just watched with mouths ajar. Crane maybe blinked once through his frozen eyes. as he watched Abbie pile her plate with food upon food. Jenny and Joe glanced at each other for a brief second before returning their eyes back on Abbie, watching her fork thrust into her beef cutlets. Each piece of meat flying into her mouth bite after bite, almost swallowing the cutlets whole, as if it was the last meal she'll ever have the rest of her life.

"Abbs, slow down. You're gonna give yourself a stomach ache." Jenny cautioned.

Abbie looks up at Jenny with raised brows as she eats.

"Yeah, I made enough food to feed an army and hopefully hold you and Crane over for another week"  Joe said with a smile while grabbing another piece of fried chicken and dumping it onto his plate.

Abbie's eyes shift to Joe as she continues to chomp down. She swallows down her food before speaking. "Thanks Joe. I really appreciate this." she waves her hand over the food displayed in the middle of the dining table.

"As well as I Mr. Corbin." Crane said as shoves another fork full of red beans and rice into his mouth.

Everyone, except for Abbie, stole quick glances at each other. Abbie was too occupied digging into her food to notice six pair of curious eyes communicating with each other, not by words but by a specific look worn on their faces. A look that anyone could of guessed what they were thinking. Jenny's mind was crowded with a landfill of questions about the underworld. She was itching to ask Abbie what she had been through, how she managed to survive, how she was able to return, along with a bunch of other questions. Jenny silently, in thought, commended herself for keeping her word when Crane had asked her to promise, for Abbie's sake, not to ask Abbie anything pertaining to the underworld. The only thing on Abbie's mind was how to tell Crane what her and his fate has in store for their role as witnesses. Abbie suddenly felt all eyes were on her after licking the grease off of her thumb and middle finger from the chicken wing. Her eyes scroll up and connects with the three, jumping from Jenny to Joe then to Crane.

The chicken bone falls from her hand onto her plate. She sits back and slouches down in her chair, clearing her throat and pursing her lips suspecting something is up with the three. She briefly gave them a second glance and forced a smile that showed she's not bothered by their analytical eyes. They quickly went back to eating. Jenny immediately picked up a biscuit off of her plate and looked away as she chewed. Joe asked Crane if he could pass him the bowl of gravy. Crane passed the bowl and then grabbed the bottle of Pino Noir and poured himself a glass. Abbie could feel the awkward tension between everyone. It was blatantly obvious to her why everybody kept conversation to a minimum. It was clear to Abbie no one else had anything to share or discuss unless it is related to the underworld. By her assumption, she gathered they wanted to know everything that happened to her after stepping inside of Pandora's tree with the shard. A sensitive subject Abbie was not ready to delve into. She felt, if no one else is going to make the effort to share anything she missed that's happened in their lives while she was gone, then it was up to her to initialize a pleasant conversation by asking questions.

Abbie turns her attention to Jenny. "So Jenny, how's work been? You still at Mabie's?"

Jenny swallows the rest of her biscuit and smiles as she answers "Work has been great... and yes, I'm still bartending there. Joe has been helping out too."

Abbie raises her brows curiously. "Oh? How so?"

"He barbacks for me on late shifts. Helps me keep the bar flies in line when they get out of hand." Her and Joe exchange a quick glance smiling. "Isn't that right baby?" Joe's eyes lit up when Jenny pats him on the knee.

Abbie eyes dart back and forth between Joe and Jenny. Her eyebrows raise an inch higher when Jenny refers to Joe as her 'baby' .

"Baby?" Abbie inquired. "Care to fill me in?"

Jenny and Joe gave each other another look but this time it was apprehensive. "Yeah, um- Joe and I have been official for the past five months." she said directing her attention back to Abbie.

"Five?... I'm sorry did you say five-months?" Abbie leans her chest forward and grips the edge of the table. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

Joe leans back in seat and rest his arm on the back of Jenny's chair "Just about. Actually. we've moved in together three months ago. We moved into a one bedroom apartment located by the Weschester Police Department. A buddy of mine told me about the place and I was curious to check it out. I asked Jenny to come along to get her opinion.' he looks adoringly at Jenny for a second then back at Abbie. "Once Jenny saw the apartment. She instantly fell in-love with it." Joe takes her hand in his. Their hands lock together on the table. Crane smiles fondly at their display of affection for one another.  "That's when I felt brave enough to say to your sister, lets move in together. I told Jenny if at any point she felt the relationship wasn't working, I'd move back into my fathers cabin and let her have the apartment. And... Id pay for her entire rent for as long as she'd let me. Jenny made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She'd agree to move in, if I agreed to help her out at Mabie's. I, of course said yes and we sealed our agreement with a kiss."

Jenny smiles. Her eyes cast down at there conjoined hands remembering that moment. "I also told you moving in would be a big step for me.. and, said, I was tired of running away from what I feared most. Loosing the people I love and care for.

Abbie moves her head back, stunned and shock, not by the fact Joe somehow was able to get Jenny to finally dive into the commitment pool and conquer her phobia of settling down and taking a big leap of faith by moving in with a man she's only dated for five months. The old Jenny would have had a man have prove themselves worthy to earn just a week of her time. That unexpected news took Abbie off guard but what really threw her mind off balance was knowing how long she'd been trapped within the underworld. To her, it seemed like one long never ending day. Time worked differently in that realm.

She shook her head disbelievingly. "I-I can't believe.. I was gone for five-months?" she mumbled quietly to herself. She blinked her eyes rapidly and cleared her throat. It was time for her to change the subject before she felt the cruel unwanted silence, once again, filling the air. Jenny and Joe exchanged looks with each other and Crane. Crane returned eye contact with them.

Abbie shoots her eyes back up at Joe and Jenny wearing the best convincing smile she could pull off. "That's great news! How nice." she tried to say enthusiastically. "I hope everything works out for the two of you." She rest her elbows on the table and folds her hands under her chin. Still smiling, she looks at Jenny. "My little sis has finally settled down. I think that's wonderful." her voice was not as convincing as her smile. It sounded lifeless and rehearsed. "When do I get to see you and Joe's new place?."

"You can come by tomorrow if you'd like?" Joe answered.

"Yeah Abs. We'd love for you to come by, only if you're feeling up to it."

Abbie shrugs her shoulders. "Why wouldn't I be feeling up to it? I'm fine. Of course I'll come by tomorrow."

Joe and Jenny exchange looks again. Crane stopped eating and steadily watches the three conversing.  An unsettled smile appears on Jenny's face when she looks at Abbie. "Oh-kay, I'll swing by tomorrow afternoon and grab you. I don't have to work until tomorrow night. Figure we could have lunch at the apartment."

Joe smiles and looks at Jenny. "That sounds like a plan. I could make my famous chicken club sandwich."

Abbie shoots up her eyebrows and genuinely smiles at the delicious idea of chicken club. "oooh.. that sounds good. I love a man that knows a way to woman's heart."

Joe and Jenny gave a satisfied nod. Abbie now brings her attention to Crane.

"So, speaking of relationships, since we're on the subject. Are you still keeping in contact with Zoe?"

He drops his fork accidently onto his plate, taken off guard by Abbie's unexpected question. He gently puts his knife down beside his fork, slowly pushes his plate forward and folds his hands together on the table in front of his plate. Clears his throat as he draws his eyes up to Abbie. His eyes matched his voice. Both sound and look tentative.

"As of late, Miss Corinth's and I communication has been.. inadequate.' he was hoping to avoid this subject at all cost. If their were a topic he felt uncomfortable discussing, this would be it. 

"Oh? Sorry to hear that Crane." Abbie voiced sincerely. "What happened?"

They all stared at Crane. Suddenly, in that moment, his poster became rigid when he sees all prying eyes waiting on him to further explain. He looked nervous and uneasy. He opens his mouth to speak but was having a hard time fudging words together that sounded sensible.

Helping to ease his discomfort, he focused on his folded hands. He tries his best to hide his nerves and forces his voice to sound calm. "Miss Corinth, is, a lovely woman. Perhaps, too good for me. Although, Miss Corinth possesses quite admirable attributes, I could not put forth anymore effort towards a non existent connection. My heart twas, simply not in it. Also, I'd like to mention, our prospective on building a proper foundation to create adequate room for an unfaltering relationship differed in opinion." His eyes raise to hers unremorsefully.

"Yeah, sorry to hear that Ichy." Jenny said in addition as she stuffs her mouth red garlic potatoes. It wasn't a sincere apology. Jenny couldn't stand the girl. Zoe's presence annoyed Jenny immensely any time her and Joe planned to meet up with Ichabod for lunch and annoyed to see Zoe accompany him. Jenny found her to be a nuisance. Why couldn't she allow the man to have his downtime with his peeps?

The first time Jenny became aware of Ichabod's love interest was a week later after Abbie had left. She overheard Ichabod on the phone at the archives one day. Ichabod was making arrangements to meet up with Zoe in the afternoon for lunch to go over his paperwork to attain a green card, for the time being until he is able to get his citizenship. Jenny overheard him agree to meet at 'Amore' an Italian bistro with a Miss Corinth and was displeased at the fact he would take on a lunch date with a woman at a time like this. Jenny needed him more than anything to continue to help her find a way to get to Abbie. At the same time, Jenny couldn't bring herself to feel too upset with him. Maybe he chosen to meet up with this woman to help keep his mind off of Abbie. But judging by his less enthused voice when he had ended his call with Miss Corinth. He didn't seem too happy about their engagement. Jenny wanted to ask who the woman was but knew better not to ask. She didn't want to give away the fact that she had been eavesdropping.

Ever since that day Abbie took off into the underworld and was lost to him, he had not been the same since. Zoe would consistently contact him day and night for two weeks. There was one particular day in the archives he'd received a call from her. His mind was elsewhere. Too preoccupied trying to find a transporting spell in Grace's journal that would open the portal to the underworld inside Pandora's lair. He looked for clues in any passage he read from numerous out dated books pertaining to General Washington or any other historical figures he knew or was connected to.

He finally acknowledged the device after the eighth ring. He slammed his book down on the table, annoyed and a little irate. He grabbed his phone off of another stack of books nearby on a chair next to his. He looked at the screen to see who was calling. His eyes do an exaggerated roll once he saw the name. The damn girl wouldn't leave him alone. He had told Zoe two days prior he'd not be available for their outing's. He informed her it was due to heavy necessary research that was imperative for him to finish. She gave him the impression she understood. When he had taken the call, she asked to join him at the archives and help but Crane made up an excuse about needing to focus and falsely explaining how much of a distraction she'd be. Zoe kept talking and Crane, in the end, listened respectively. 

After two weeks of barely taking her calls, not responding back to her emoji posts through texts, and if they did speak, only a few words were uttered on his end, hoping he'd make it clear to her he had no desire to carry on a conversation longer than ten minutes. Eventually, Zoe tired of finding herself being the only one making an effort at small talk. She finally took the hint. Crane had received a text from her asking if he wished to no longer speak with her. He responded that it was not the case. Instead of texting her back, he called and reiterated his reasons for being distant. He asked her to allow him the space he needed and said he'd be in touch with her. She asked one last question before ending the call, a question he was hesitant to answer. Zoe had asked Crane, if his reasons had something to do with another woman. If he was seeing someone else. His long drawn out silence confirmed her answer. The one time words had failed him.

Zoe kept her tears at bay. She was hurt to know he had moved on. Her heart sunk down to the pit of her stomach. She politely ended their call. Giving him some excuse about being late for a birthday party. She said _she'd_ be in touch. He'd had hope their friendship could stay in tact. Ever since Crane politely asked Zoe to leave him alone for awhile and Zoe discovering his heart is not with hers, she rarely felt any desire to contact him, unless it had something to do with helping him out with his citizenship.

Abbie look saddened as Crane explained his reasons for their lack of communication. At the same time, she looked puzzled, wondering who the new woman was that Crane has taken an interest to. As Crane ranted on, she thought back at how her emotions got the best of her over a year ago, before he ran off, before she joined the FBI. How her feelings grew into a warm current of love, that flowed through her body. How everything mentally shifted for her, when she started dreaming about Crane in a _'more than a friend_ ' kind of way. Some of her dreams were sexual, some romantic, some domesticated, in a husband and wife sort of way.  A few of her dreams involved them making out under a tree, in the meadows, in Jenny's truck, on her couch, in the archives, in the back of the movie theater, like a couple of horny teenagers.

Now, it was different for her. The feelings she had for him, gone, buried. It was a choice she was force to make when he had made it clear to her he could not return her affections, after hearing her confession. Abbie had an idea of what Zoe must of went through emotionally. She could sympathize with her. Rejection is not a pleasant feeling. It sucks to be fond of someone who can't exchange the sentiment.

Abbie didn't have much else to say after hearing his story. Instead she scooted back her chair and picked up her plate to put in the sink. Crane looked at her strangely. Joe and Jenny looked up at her as well. Jenny stole a quick a glance at Crane before getting up from her chair. Crane and Joe watch Jenny make her way over to Abbie, who is now rinsing off her plate.

Jenny carefully places her hand on Abbie's left shoulder. "What's up?"

Abbie turns off the water and wipes her hand with the dishtowel. She sighs as she turns to face Jenny. "I'm tired. I think it's best if I turn in early. I know you guys are keeping it cool to make sure I have a nice, relaxed evening. I appreciate that. I also know you Joe and Crane have many questions about everything that's happened to me since I've been gone...which we will discuss, when I'm ready to discuss.. but, right now- ' she shakes her head trying to find the words  "-right now, this is all overwhelming for me. I'm trying to be normal, I'm trying to _feel_ normal, but-but,,I,,can't. I'd rather just find my place in my own bed. You all are more than welcomed to stay and finish this lovely meal Joe worked hard to make for us" she said in an exhausted manner.

Jenny stares apprehensively at her for a moment. "Are you sure that's the only reason why you need to turn in so early, when we've only been here for twenty minutes? she lift a brow in question at Abbie.

Abbie shoots her a type look that wondered why her sister would think she's holding back the true reasons for her early retreat.

"What other reason could there be? Those-are-my-reasons."

"Hmm, maybe." Jenny gives her one last unconvinced stare before walking away.

Abbie followed right behind to let the others know she felt too tired to continue their visit and apologized for having to cut their evening short. Joe understood and wished Abbie a good nights rest. Jenny gave her sister a long hug good night and said she see come by to pick her up tomorrow afternoon to have lunch at her new place. Crane frowned at her choice to retire so early. He immediately stood up from his seat to escort Abbie to her room but Abbie put her hand on his chest to keep him from moving. She assured him she'd be fine and allow her to see to her own needs privately. He just stared at her in concern. It took him awhile to accept her rejection after he had offered her his assistance. He nodded and sat back down at the table. They all watched Abbie stride up the stairs without looking back to wish them one last good night.

 


End file.
